The Body and Soul
by BoeJackMan
Summary: <html><head></head>Aura is something seen on many occasions, whether you're a civillion or a Hunter. It is known as the manifestation of one's soul, and that is common knowledge. But what about the soul? There has never once been a recorded sight of a person's soul, so how would we know? Most people say that a person can only see a soul when they are dead, but is that true?</html>
1. The Dust and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**This is the Beginning of a Story**_

Aura: the manifestation of the user's soul. It's something everyone has and something many warriors have faced. The soul however, is a different story. It is something none has ever seen, felt, or heard. It is strange how there are many ways to measure Aura, yet none to measure the soul. Many have some sort of theory for why that is; the most popular one says that the body is the protector of the soul and will shield it from sight and harm, but why would it need to do that when the soul's manifestation is what protects the body? No one knows, or at least, no one should.

_**Late Morning, Vale's Main Road**_

A teenager can be seen walking down the street, rolling a blue luggage with fount pair of wheels along its back behind him, with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Now many would say that he has a strange way of dressing himself. A bright red top hat sat upon his head with a pair of large circular sunglasses over his eyes, a dark trench coat with many pockets ending about mid-calf over a multicolored T-shirt, some silky white gloves, a pair of desert camouflage cargo pants with more pockets than normal, and on his feet are some sandals. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the way he's dressed; but, with him, there probably never was.

As he was strolling, he started to talk to himself, "I can't believe I got accepted into Beacon! I knew that I was academically ready for it, but I didn't think I was combat ready for it. If I am going, I need more Dust." As to emphasize his point, he was walking to his favorite Dust shop, From Dust Till Dawn; however, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the state it was in: the window was broken, there were many cracks in the concrete, and a crater outside the building. He looked around and muttered a single sentence, "This can't be good." He ran into the shop. "What happened?"

The old man that was sweeping up the inside of the store was startled to hear the kid's voice, "Oh, Jack, what are you doing here?"

Jack stopped in his tracks, not expecting him to dodge the question; but, he decided to answer the question to get his answered, "Oh you know, got accepted to Beacon, wanted to get some Dust and chat with a family friend before I leave, and then I find a freaken' crater outside! I mean, it looks like someone fought a war out there!" It was at this point that Jack was close enough that anyone could tell that he towers over the old man.

The old man sighed before looking at the oddly dressed teenager, "You're not too far from the truth, but the costs for the repairs are more preferable to the cost of restocking all of the dust." He walked behind the counter, putting away the broom, and asked, "Would you like your usual?"

Jack started to lean on the nearby counter, "I guess, but you know, if you need any help, just call me. I would always be happy to help you out."

"Oh I know that," he started to walk towards the back of the store. "I guess I'm just used to doing things myself, so you don't need to worry yourself over me." He opened a locker along the back wall to reveal cases of Dust rounds. He picked up a number of similar cases and walked back to the counter while saying, "Five cases of forty-five rounds," he then pulled out a few red Dust crystals from the counter, "and ten fire Dust crystals. You still never told me how you burn through all that ammunition, or where you keep it all."

Putting some lien on the counter, Jack retorted, "And you still never told me how old you are." He took the Dust rounds and crystals and put them all in his coat as he started walking outside, "Well, I got to go, don't want to miss the airship to Beacon. Good day."

"Wait!" The old man called out. "I have something for you!" Jack turned around to see the old man rummaging through a cabinet behind the counter. "And don't worry about the airship," he said, "I can drive you there, so you have a few more hours to spare." The old man was right; it would normally take Jack a few hours to walk from the shop to the airships on the other side of Vale.

Jack gave a sigh of relief, as he wasn't the biggest fan of walking, "Okay, I'll stay." He started to look over the counter after a few seconds of watching the old man go through the cabinet. He waited and waited until he decided to ask, "So, what is it you're looking for?"

The old man didn't even look up to answer, "I'm look for your gift." He continued to try and find what he was looking for and it didn't take much longer, "I found it! This is what I was looking for!" He pulled out a small black box; it couldn't have been bigger than Jack's forearm. "This right here," he opened the box, "is your graduation present."

Inside the box was a Dust crystal a bit bigger than Jack's fist, but there was something strange with it. It had a blue color, but not the standard blue, it was pale. Its coloring was so close to that of an ice one that the average person would believe it was just that, an ice Dust crystal; however, Jack knew that even the slightest coloration difference in Dust would mean a change in what type it was. So what was it, if it wasn't for ice or water?

The old man must have seen the questioning look on Jack's face as he started to answer the unasked question, "This right here, young man, is Spirit Dust. It's one of the rarest types of Dust around. It unlocks the user's Aura, and all you need to do is crush it in your hand. I know you have always had trouble unlocking your Aura, so I thought this would be the perfect gift for you. You've had many people try to unlock your Aura, so I got this in hopes that it would unlock it."

The smile on Jack's face was so bright that would have blinded the average person. He jumped over the counter to hug the old man. "Thank you!" Jack shouted, "Thank you so much!" He was always separated from the majority of the Signal Academy students because of the fact that he could never use his Aura, not even like a natural defense like the other students. He finally had a way to get on more even ground.

He took the Dust in his hand and tried to crush it. "Tried," was the key word. He could not even put a crack into the crystal, no matter how hard he tried. He knew he could break Dust crystals; he's done it many times before, so why couldn't he do it now?

Time ticked on and it refused to become damaged, even after adding his other hand. Finally, a single crack formed, then another. Cracks formed one after another after the initial crack, until finally, it shattered. Jack waited to feel anything, but nothing came. There was no feeling of power, strength, or even warmth that some of his classmates said they felt when they activated their Aura. His hope on activating his Aura started to dwindle and fade.

The old man saw this and was about to console the young man, only to get thrown back by a sudden force. Jack finally felt it, the power, the strength, the warmth all his peers talked about. He felt it; however, he didn't feel it for long. The use of such a large quantity of aura, after just unlocking it, put a tremendous strain on his body, and all of what he just felt turned to weakness, fragility, and chill. His body became numb and the last thing he heard was the old man shouting his name before darkness swarmed his vision.

_**Two Hours Later, From Dust 'Till Dawn's Backroom**_

_"What happened?" _Was the single thought going through Jack's head when he woke up. He felt strange, he felt weightless. It was then that he remembered, so he bolted straight up. He looked down at himself, but he didn't see what he expected. He saw that he was still in his clothes, but he was translucent. The floor beneath his legs, he could see it. No matter what he did, Jack's body remained translucent; however, being translucent wasn't the strangest thing he saw.

There, sitting against the wall was a person that looked extremely like Jack, clothes and all; but, that can't be right. The guy was sitting on one side of the room, while Jack was standing on the other side. Before he could investigate, the old man entered the room, with few scratches that he didn't remember him having, and started to check up on the imposter. "Come on Jack," he started to slap the guy's cheek, "wake up."

Jack was now really confused, "What are you talking about, old man? I'm right here."

The old man nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice come from behind him. "Who's there?" He asked as he looked around, "Show yourself!"

"What are you talking about?" Jack started to wave his hand in front of the old man's face, "It's me, Jack. I'm right in front of you." He couldn't understand it at all. Sure, he was translucent, but that didn't mean he was invisible, right?

The old man didn't seem convinced, "If you are really Jack, tell me something only he would know."

"You and I both know that I don't like being asked to do that," the voice didn't seem amused, in fact it sounded quite irate.

The old man heard that and immediately backed up. "Okay," he said, "I believe you, but are you using your Aura?" The question was the closest thing to relevant to the situation at hand, so it had to be asked.

Jack was confused about it himself. "I don't think I am," he wasn't sure if he was or not, it made no sense. He then got an idea so he voiced his thoughts, "Hold on, I think I got something." Jack remembered how his teachers would tell the other students that in order to use their Aura; they need to recall the feeling they had when it was first unlocked. He tried to call back the feeling of being on top of the world, the feeling of invulnerability, and the feeling of being able to burn a thousand suns.

The old man was looking around the room in order to try and see anything to indicate where the "real" Jack was, and just when he decided to give up and wait to see what the lad's plan was, he saw a faint light out of the corner of his eye. A single patch of light floated in the room, and it slowly spread until Jack's fully clothed silhouette of multiple colors of light was completely visible. The old man was speechless at what he was seeing, it's not every day someone sees the form of the one they would call a grandson made from Aura.

Jack opened his eyes to see the old man' shocked expression. He tried to get him out of his stupor with a small joke, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Realizing that he stared, the old man tried apologizing, "Sorry, I just never thought I would see you made of Aura."

Nodding his head, Jack started walking towards his body. It's very strange for a person to see their own body in the third person without assistance. "Is it getting weird in here?" He joked as he stared at his body, "Or is that just me?"

The old man shook his head in response, "No, this is definitely strange." Neither of them could understand the situation they were in, the day started off normally for both of them, but after the use of a single Dust crystal, it went downhill.

Jack finally became tired of the silence in the room, "Well, I kind of want my body to do something interesting because I'm bored." Not even a moment passed by when the body's head shot up.

The body immediately jumped to its feet and scanned the room. Once its eyes landed upon Jack's silhouette, it dropped onto one knee, pressed its knuckles perpendicular to the ground, and the head became parallel to the floor. Neither of the two people could understand the bizarre act the body did.

Jack was the first one to come back to the world or reality and made a comment, "Well that was interesting." That was when something occurred to him, "Wait a second. That was interesting. Old man! It did what I told it to do! I can probably get it to do whatever I want!" He looked over the body and realized that it was still kneeling, so he spoke, with a bit of authority in his voice, "Rise." It did so, and Jack started to give it random commands one would usually give when playing Simon Says.

The old man finally snapped out of it and saw what was happening. "Jack," he needed the boy's attention, "why don't you try and see if it could put you back in your body?"

Jack's face lit up in realization, "I see what you mean. All right, body, put me back into you." Nothing happened; the body didn't move an inch. It did nothing but stand to receive its next order. Jack didn't give up yet so he tried different variations of the command over and over. His hope of getting back into his body started to flicker and fade, only this time, there was nothing to save it.

Jack couldn't understand it, it listened to all of his other commands, so why not now? "Tell me," he was close to breaking down, "why aren't you following my command? Why won't you put me back in my body?"

Two monotone words flowed into the air from neither the old man nor Jack, "I can't." It startled the two in the room as they never expected it.

The two didn't know what to do, so Jack only muttered a small, "What," as he tried to build himself back to handle what would probably come.

"I can't," the two words came again, but this time they were prepared and they found that it came from the body. "Once Soul leave Body," it started to explain, "can't come back." Even with its broken vocabulary, the message came across clearly.

The curiosity showed clearly on Jack's face, "How do you know this?"

The body only answered with a single word, "Instinct."

The word only made the old man question, "If it's instinct, then why doesn't Jack know this?" The body just stood there, not bothering to answer the question.

They stood for about a minute until Jack realized that the body wouldn't respond to the old man, so he re-asked the question. Now that the soul asked the question, the body answered, "Soul never meant to leave Body, but Body knows when it needed." What it said only served to confuse them even more, but they knew that was as much as they were going to get from it.

Jack couldn't let the opportunity to sum up the situation pass, "Well this sucks." He started to think of anything they could do, when an idea came to his mind, "I'm going to call you Johnson!"

The old man was just puzzled by the kid's actions, so he voiced his concerns, "Shouldn't you be more worried about other matters, and really, 'Johnson?' That's just your last name."

Jack only shrugged while he reasoned, "I need to live with the fact that I'm not going back in my body sooner or later, so why not now?" Even when the old man knew the kid since he was born, he could never understand him, it seemed like he was ready to cry only a few minutes ago. "And besides," he continued, "I can't just keep referring to him as "body" when he clearly has a mind of its own; and, that means I don't need to make up a name for him."

The old man could only sigh as he shook his head, "Do you have a plan?"

Jack instantly responded with, "Yeah, but do you have some sort of bandana here? Oh, and what about time to get to the airships?"

The questions seemed a bit odd to the old man, so he could only give a weak response, "There should be some in one of the crates backs here and enough time to get there early, but why do you need to know this?"

Jack became excited so he raised his fist into the air as he spoke, "Because I'm still going to Beacon!"

The old man couldn't help but question the boy's sanity, but he went with it after a little motivation.

_**End Chapter**_

_**Well people, that is basically my first attempt at a RWBY fanfiction. I got the idea from a post on Tumblr. The post talked about how silly it would be if you die during a zombie apocalypse, and your soul would leave your zombie body. The soul would then be stuck having to watch as their previous body bumbled around like an idiot.**_

_**So, I made this fairly strange OC that basically has a few screws missing in his head.**_

_**The next chapter should be up by tomorrow or the next day.**_

_**Like always, if you have a question, just leave it down in the reviews.**_

_**So with that, I conclude. Good day, good night!**_


	2. The Airship and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**Previously on the Body and Soul**_

The questions seemed a bit odd to the old man, so he could only give a weak response, "There should be some in one of the crates backs here and enough time to get there almost on time, but why do you need to know this?"

Jack became excited so he raised his fist into the air as he spoke, "Because I'm still going to Beacon!"

The old man couldn't help but question the boy's sanity, but he went with it after a little motivation.

_**Twenty Minutes Later, Inside the Old Man's Truck**_

The old man was driving, Johnson was in the passenger seat with a plain grey bandana covering his mouth and top hat in his lap to reveal his long hair in a ponytail, and Jack was nowhere to be seen. "Are you sure this plan will work?" The old man suddenly questioned.

Jack's colorful silhouette appeared in the backseat alongside his luggage as he answered, "Yeah, I mean, I was accepted into Beacon, so I shouldn't be suspicious; and if they know me, they know I'm a bit eccentric." He noticed that the old man wasn't too sure of it, so he tried to alleviate the old man's concern, "It'll work. Trust me."

The old man only gave a sigh, "Just don't get into any trouble." Jack responded with something about trying, but he obviously wasn't too concerned about it.

After driving for a few more minutes, they finally arrived, and what they saw was not what they expected. It wasn't an average airship, it was a behemoth of flying metal; its size could easily dwarf the size of the truck they were currently sitting in. Its four jets roaring to life as the people getting inside started to dwindle.

Johnson started to get out of the truck when it stopped, it then grabbed the blue luggage from the backseat, put it on the ground, and stood outside the truck to await further instructions. The soul saw this and decided to say his last goodbyes to the old man, "Well, it was fun today. I guess this is goodbye."

The old man didn't seem too bothered. "Jack," he started, "you do realize that you can visit Vale during the weekends, right?" He knew that Jack would forget something that simple.

His response was only a sheepish laugh and a small, "Yeah, I guess." He stopped laughing as he adopted a serious tone, "Still, thank you for all you have done." He then left before it could get too emotional. The old man knew that Jack didn't like getting teary eyed, so he drove off soon after.

While they were walking to the giant of a ship, Jack told Johnson to get his weapon out. Johnson pulled out a small cylinder from behind his coat; it transformed into what Jack would like to call, "A gentleman's cane." It was pure black, except for its silver tip, blue hand grip, and red Dust crystal—that had the occasional flicker of white—on the top. It was only now that Jack realized that Johnson was walking exactly like he was, so he was rightfully curious, "Why is it that you're walking just like me?"

It gave a simple response, "Soul not in Body, but muscle never forget." The monotone sentence may have been broken, but it was still clear about its meaning.

"And that's another thing!" Jack exclaimed, "Why don't you speak with any emotion?" Since the two were separated, Johnson has never showed any emotions.

Not bothered the soul's curiosity, it gave a plain reply, "Emotion for Soul, not Body."

Jack only sighed, "I guess this is another reason for me to handle the talking. Let's just get on the ship."

There was only a simple security check of the students' transcripts and weapons. Jack could only guess that was because they were going to a combat school and they couldn't let a civilian go through. The people were nice, they didn't ask too many questions, and they weren't rude about the ones they did ask. They also took his luggage, stating that they would return it after the orientation in the amphitheater. The only strange thing was that they all looked like they were trying to hold back a smile, like they heard a funny joke but weren't allowed to laugh.

Once aboard the airship, Jack instructed his body to sleep in the nearest corner while he looked around; apparently the nearest corner already housed a reading brunette with a bow on her head, but she didn't seem to mind after she noticed Johnson wasn't going to do much. Now choosing to ignore that area for now, Jack scanned the room for anything interesting, and he was not disappointed. He saw a pale girl directing butlers with suitcases into the cargo bay, a redhead polishing her shield, and a hyperactive girl bouncing around a guy in a green tailcoat. Just a big bucket of fun isn't it? Too bad there weren't that many people in this room of the ship.

The engines gave a louder roar as the airship took off; it was with the worst of luck that he was assigned to this room by the people that took his luggage, he would have gotten a better view from one of the rooms at the middle of the ship. He wondered if anyone had motion sickness, so he did a quick around the room to see no one really reacted much. He was a bit disappointed, _"They may have weak stomachs, but they can be a lot kinder."_ He also drew the conclusion that this isn't the first time anyone in that room flew, based on the lack of reaction they gave.

Seeing as he didn't have much to do, he decided to explore the ship. It may have been against the rules, but it wasn't like he was going to get caught as a soul; however, before he could he get his exploration going, the news on the holographic display caught his attention. It talked of Roman Torchwick being on the loose again and how the White Fang did some other violent crime, all the news talked about anymore were the White Fang and some sort of criminal activity. It didn't last very long, as the program was cut to go to a professional looking blonde with a violet and black cape.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," she started to give a speech. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The wandering spirit couldn't understand the purpose of her speech. Any good hunter in training should know why they were being hunters, and it should be obvious why they are going to Beacon; however, she spoke as if no one knew why they were hunters or going to Beacon, it even seemed like she was talking to children. He goes through the nearest door, choosing to ignore the strange feeling he got from the speech.

After he phased through it, a skill he learned from trying to test out some theories, he saw something that made him a bit happy. He found the motion sick guy, too bad it seemed that the scraggly blond got some vomit on a familiar girl's shoes. It really did seem like a bit of bad luck on his part, but he can't fix the past. _"Maybe Johnson has some breath mints on him?" _Jack wondered. That didn't matter now though, as they were about to land; so, he needed to get his physical body ready.

When he was back near his body, he noticed that everyone was getting ready to leave, except for the reading brunette. He briefly wondered if he should tell that the aircraft was about to land. _ "No," _he decided, _"I'll tell her after it does land." _He crouched near Johnson and whispered in his ear, "Get up Johnson, look awake." Jack didn't notice his neighbor's bow twitch.

* * *

><p>The body followed the orders it heard from the soul. It was told to stand up, so it did. It was told to look around, so it did. It was told to scratch the back of his head, so it did. Each time it was given an order by the soul it would follow the order to the letter, making sure to also comply with the muscle's memories to make it look more natural.<p>

One was the soul, the other was the body. One was the king, and the other was the servant. One gave orders, and the other was to follow without question. It was the body's job to follow the soul's command; even if the soul was no longer in the body, it didn't mean the body should no longer listen to it.

* * *

><p>The aircraft has finally stopped and people started moving. Jack looked back to the brunette, only to see that she wasn't there anymore. It was confusing for him, she was there one minute and gone the next. <em>"Oh well," <em>he thought, _"it shouldn't change much." _Jack started to go away, until he realized that he forgot to order Johnson to go with him, which it did.

Johnson walked through the exit of the airship and stopped when the soul saw a boy hunched over a trash can. He was told to wait while the boy retched and look for any breath mints. He luckily found the mints by the time the boy stopped giving gifts to the can. "Want some mints," Jack questioned the boy. It looked like he was trying to fit the look of a modern knight, if his white breast plate and pauldrons had anything to say about it. Under that he wore obsidian colored hoodie and red gloves. Covering his lower half was a pair of faded blue jeans and black shoes.

The blond looked surprised that someone was nearby, if his wide eyes and open jaw were any indication. He seemed extremely embarrassed as he spoke, "Yeah, uh, sure." The two stood in silence until the blond spoke again, this time with a bit of confidence, "The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. The ladies love it."

Jack gave a single chuckle in response, "Did you ever actually get a lady's view of it, or are you just assuming?" It was then that he noticed that the courtyard had a minuscule amount of people, so he gave a suggestion, "We should probably get going. The ceremony might start soon." Hearing that the body started to walk off, cane in hand. "Come on Jaune," Jack shouted to the boy, "You can't stand there all day!"

After a few seconds, Jaune caught up to Johnson and gave his retort, "I'll have you know, my mom said it was a good name!"

"Stop," the soul whispered to the body, "Stare at this guy, and make him a bit uncomfortable." Johnson did as ordered, and nearly immediately the scraggly knight was unnerved.

"Right," the Arc boy sighed, "I guess family doesn't count."

Jack really wanted to give some sort of response, but he was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. Two sets of eyes were drawn towards the sound, while the third continued to look at Jaune, as ordered to. The burst came from the courtyard, except it had a crater in the middle of it. Inside the crater was the pale girl yelling at a little girl with a red cloak, Jack would have recognized her if he saw her eyes, but he didn't. _"Hey," _Jack thought, _"it's the girl from earlier."_ It was the girl reading besides the Johnson from before; she was starting to walk towards the group of three "J's".

* * *

><p>The body was told to give a tip of the hat to the passing girl; she only gave a slight nod in return. It was told to walk to the red cloaked girl on the ground with Jaune. How she got there, it didn't know, but the body was never told to question it. It heard the soul tell him to leave the two alone, let them become friends. The soul said that he needed to explore. Where the soul goes, the body goes, as it was commanded.<p>

_**End Chapter**_

_**Sorry I got this chapter out a day late, it's just that I didn't have the time to do it like I thought I would, but I still got it out.**_

_**Do realize that I don't hate Weiss, just realize that what will happen next chapter is actually something that I raged about when I learned more about Dust. That will be the only hint about the next chapter.**_

_**Like always, if you need a question answered, just ask in a review.**_

_**Good day, night, or whatever it is at the time this is read.**_


	3. The Heiress and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**Previously on the Body and Soul**_

The body was told to give a tip of the hat to the passing girl; she only gave a slight nod in return. It was told to walk to the red cloaked girl on the ground with Jaune. How she got there, it didn't know, but the body was never told to question it. It heard the soul tell him to leave the two alone, let them become friends. The soul said that he needed to explore. Where the soul goes, the body goes, as it was commanded.

_**Now**_

They walked away from the hunter and huntress in training without being noticed. They came up to a large, oak double doors, it was quite tremendous. "So," Jack started to question, "should we go through here?"

Johnson could never really change his point of view on things, "Soul order, Body follow."

Jack could only mutter something about Johnson being no help before he decided, "Alright, let's go through these doors!" It did nothing. The body didn't move because sometimes it couldn't see the commands in his sentences, so Jack gave a sigh as he spoke again, "Just open the doors Johnson."

It didn't give a verbal response; the body was not told how to open the doors, so it did what the muscles remember Jack does with doors: a bigger door means more force. The doors swung open with such force that the walls trembled from the doors' contact. The resounding boom of the collision brought everyone's attention to the entrance, only to be confused by the boy's attire. Well, except for a single person that recognized him instantly.

Jack heard his name being called, but he couldn't place and decided it was only a trick of the wind. He shouted out after he whispered for Johnson to scratch the back of his neck, "I thought the door would have been heavier than," he paused, "well, that!" He then told the soulless body to stop scratching his neck and move to the back of the room.

"Jack!" he definitely heard it that time, it was closer and louder too. It gave Jack an idea on what to test Johnson on; again, he chose to ignore the sound of his name.

The test begins now, "Johnson, I want you to tell me the description of anyone important and their location, gather the information and only tell me after you got everything. Go." He did his own little scan of the room, just to see if they would consider the same people important. Jack believed that anyone important was someone that stood out, so he looked for anyone that did just that.

He noticed that everyone in his room on the airship stood out, so he took in more of their details. The tailcoat-guy had a foreign face with magenta eyes and a single streak of the same color through his raven hair. The hyper girls that seem to buzz around him at a mile a second had short, orange hair, turquoise eyes, pink skirt and gloves, and a sleeveless black and white top, with a heart shaped cut out at her collarbone, that Jack had trouble trying to describe. The redhead was no longer carrying her shield, probably with the rest of her stuff; she was wearing a stiff leather armor outlined with bronze that left her shoulders bare and led to a short skirt, bronze bracers, and a pair of cuisse and greaves that led into black boots. She looked familiar, but Jack couldn't place it, _"I'll figure it out later, but now I want some cereal, especially some Pumpkin Pete's. No wait, I'm a soul, I can't do that anymore. Maybe Johnson would like some after orientation?" _No one will ever learn where Jack's priorities lie.

Before he could continue, he saw a familiar blonde from Signal Academy heading towards him, but he couldn't remember. Some of her golden hair nearly fell over her violet eyes, while the rest cascaded behind her and around her face. She had an orange scarf around her neck and a brown short-sleeved jacket over what appeared to be a yellow tube top. It was only then that he figured out why she seemed familiar, _"Oh, it's only Miss Fire Head." _It was then that it clicked in his mind, _"Shit, it's Miss Fire Head!" _He nearly immediately turned to Johnson and orders flew from his mouth at a speed most would never follow, "Johnson, abort your current mission! Someone that knows me is coming this way! If you really listen to the muscle memories, I need you to follow their every order; I can't give them to you because I'll need to talk to her. I guess this is a good a time as any for a field test."

"Jack," she yelled, "why didn't you tell me you were going to beacon? I would have tried to at least find you after we took off."

Jack's curiosity was accidentally struck; and, he forgot about his worry, as it was replaced by curiosity. "What do you mean," Johnson's head tilted slightly, "I mean, I was assigned a room and told to stay in it."

She shook her head and replied, "Well, me and Ruby weren't told anything like that."

Johnson's head went back to standard position when something clicked in Jack's head, "So that's why they looked like they were trying to hold back a grin! They were playing a joke on me! Oh well, I just fell asleep anyway." Jack faintly noticed Johnson give a small shrug of the shoulders when he said that last sentence. "Wait, you mentioned someone named 'Ruby'? Should I know this person," Jack rarely hears of "Miss Fire Head" traveling with anyone other than "Silver-Eyes", _"What was her name again? It started with an 'R' I think."_ That's when he understood who it was, "Wait! Are you talking about Silver-Eyes?" Sometimes, Jack's inability to retain names, except for a few select categories of people or the names he gave them, would baffle even the smartest of people.

Luckily, "Miss Fire Head" was at least somewhat used to his strange antics, but she still sighed because of it. She didn't know how he could forget her sister's name; it is such a simple name. "Do you even remember my name?" she questioned.

He gave a few nervous chuckles, noticing Johnson put a hand to where his mouth would be and look away slightly, and replied, "Would I be correct if I said it starts with a 'Y'?"

She seems to sigh a lot around Jack, "It's Yang, if you wanted to know; but, you'll probably forget after five minutes."

They continued their conversation like that for a little while, with Johnson giving the occasional movement, much less than what Jack would've done; but, Yang didn't seem to notice. She questioned the new bandana. He questioned her inability to use symmetry. She said she looked good with what she had going on. He said he wanted to be flamboyantly mysterious. Never question Jack's motives, because you will only become confused.

The conversation took a quick turn when Yang noticed something near the entrance of the auditorium causing her to shout at it. "Ruby!" she yelled, "Over here! I saved you a spot!" Jack turned and saw the cloaked girl from earlier standing with Jaune—not that Jack remembered Jaune's name. Ruby's dark brown hair was short and tipped with a dark red. She wore a long sleeved combat dress that stopped just above her mid-thigh. Upon her feet were black combat boots with maroon laces.

Jack saw Ruby tell Jaune something before heading over to her sister; and whatever it was, it caused him to look a bit abandoned. Jack will talk to him later, maybe sometime after he finds some cereal. _"Well, now I have a plan for the rest of the day: finish orientation, get some cereal, talk to that guy, and go to sleep. Great plan!"_

"So how was your first day at Beacon, little sis," Yang questioned.

Ruby wasn't at all happy with her at the moment, "Oh, you mean when you ditched me and I exploded!"

Some of Jack's interests include blowing things up, so he instantly jumped in the conversation, "Explosion? When?" He then remembered something, "Oh, you mean in front of the academy?" He did remember seeing her in a small crater in the court yard.

"Yes," the little girl cried, "There was fire and some lighting, and I think some ice?" She couldn't remember much of the explosion because it happened so quickly.

"Wait a second," Jack requested, "How did you explode?" He knew of a few ways for an element to be inside of an explosion, but they all incorporated Dust. He just hoped that no one was idiotic enough to throw around Dust crystals or fill the air with powdered Dust. He thought, _"No one is stupid enough to ignore safety protocals, right?"_

She started to explain, "Well, first I fell over a crabby girl's luggage, then she yelled at me, then we exploded, and then she started yelling again. I felt really, really bad, and just wished she would stop yelling at me." Her monologue was filled with random hand gestures and facial expressions.

Yang was about to question her about being sarcastic; however, she was interupted when a girl screeching a loud, "You!" Ruby was absolutely terrified and jumped into Yang's arms.

It was the pale girl. She had white hair and light blue eyes, a scar going vertically across her left eye. She wore a long sleeved white bolero and white combat dress that ended just like Ruby's. She also had some heeled white boots. "You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff," she continued.

"Hold on a second," Johnson put up a single hand as the soul wanted their attention, "How did you two exploded," Jack questioned, as he heard Yang mutter something about exploding in her shock.

She looked like she wanted to say what happened so badly, "Oh I'll tell you exactly what happened. I was directing some of the Schnee family servants when I heard a crash. I looked over there to see this, *dunce*," she made sure to emphasize that word, "knocked over my cases of Dust! As I was reproving her, she ignited the Dust around us, and we exploded." She would have continued her rant if Jack didn't cut in at that.

He heard all he needed, "I would like to let you continue, but that won't be necessary." Her face clearly conveyed her shock at being interrupted. "You said something about, 'Schnee family servants,' right," he saw her give a faint nod to his question, so he continued, "So that would mean that I am right in assuming that you are a part of the Schnee family Dust company, right?"

It was at this time that the pale girl regained her bearings, "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the company."

That was better than he thought, "If you are the heiress to a Dust company," Johnson stepped closer to Weiss and stared down at her, a show of aggression that Jack would only do on rare occasions, "than that means that you should understand the proper procedure with said Dust!" There are few times when Jack gets angry, and that's when someone steps on the metaphorical toes of his friends.

She never had a commoner yell at her like the one in front of her is doing right now, so she decided to question why, in her own way, "Of course I know the proper procedures to handle Dust, but I don't see any reason for that question!"

"The way you phrased it, made it sound like you two were surrounded by a cloud of powdered Dust, yes?" Weiss gave an affirmative to that. "Protocol dictates that in the event of people being surrounded by powdered Dust, there are to be no sudden movements and anyone within the Dust cloud is to evacuate that area until the Dust settles! Did you do either of those things?" Anyone around them could hear how enraged his voice was. He knew that the most time Ruby spent around Dust was when it was in the form of Dust rounds, so she probably didn't know all of the safety protocols for all the different types of Dust. Weiss Schnee however, is the heiress to one of the largest Dust companies, and should know of all of the safety procedures for Dust! So the reason Weiss is angry at Ruby was lost on Jack after he gained the information he was told.

Before the tension could get any stronger, Yang interrupted, "Look, it seems like everyone just got off on the wrong foot, so why don't you just start over"

Ruby seemed to like that idea, "Great idea Yang! Hi, I'm Ruby. Would you like to be friends? We could go shopping for school supplies?"

The amount of sarcasm Weiss spoke with could be seen by a blind man, "Yeah, then we can go hang out, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys! Like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." She gestured at Jaune when she gave the example.

"Johnson, why don't you growl at her," it wasn't a question, as he couldn't let the heiress forget about his presence. Johnson leaned over a bit more and growled near the girl's head, making her jump back a bit. Jack had three known stages of aggression: stare, growl, snap. It was only on rare occasions that Jack would even enter the first stage, and he only entered the third stage once in his life; however, it seemed that Weiss knew how to push buttons.

Some people would have said that it was a good thing that they were interrupted by the speaker systems turning on to inform everyone in the auditorium that the orientation was starting, making Jack quietly tell Johnson to stop growling and stand normally. "I'll...keep this brief," a grey haired man started to speak, "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge—to hone your craft and acquire new skills—and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose—direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He was then heading off the stage when professor Goodwitch went up to the microphone.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight," she said, "Tomorrow will be you're initiation, be ready." She walked off stage as well.

"Well," Jack started in a friendlier voice as his mind was now off of Weiss, "wasn't he just a barrel of fun. Who was he again?" He would rather not speak to Weiss for the rest of the day, so the question was more directed to Yang and Ruby.

Ruby was the one to answer him, "That's professor Ozpin, headmaster of the academy."

He made a mental not of it, "Professor Ozdin, got it. Thanks, Silver Eyes."

Before she could correct his pronunciation of the headmaster's name Jaune came over. He apparently heard that he was being referenced and saw that Weiss was pointing over at him earlier, so he came over now that no one was talking. "You know, I'm a natural blond," he commented causing Weiss to face-palm.

Jack saw the familiar face with no name so he would be nice and greet him, "Hello there! I'm sorry, but I can't remember your name." The way he said it made it seem like he was sorry but it was also a common occurrence. He gave a small inquiry, "Can I call you Sir Knight?"

Yang saw what was happening, so she decided to spare everyone time and told Jaune, "You should let him, we've been friends for a few years now and he still can't remember my name." Ruby chimed in with her own agreement as well.

Jaune responded, "I'm all right with you calling me that, but I never got your name."

"My apologies," Jack started with a fake "fancy" accent as Johnson put a hand to his chest, "My name is Jack Gilligan Johnson, and Grimm run in fear once they see my weapon," Johnson held up the cane, "the fearsome, the terrifying, Gerold!" No one expected the cane's name to be Gerold, so everyone that heard his outburst was immediately stupefied; it also included Yang and Ruby because he never introduced himself in such a way in the past. That allowed him to have Johnson be able to walk away without any objections.

"_Too many people," _he thought.

_**End**_

_**First thing's first, the stare that was given to Jaune was not a part of the stages of aggression. The one he was given was more of a, "Stop joking around," sort of thing. The stare that is a part of the stages of aggression is more of a, "Understand that I don't like you," sort of thing. The second thing is—again—I'm not going to start bashing on Weiss. I just believe that, as the heiress of**_

_**I'm giving you guys this second chapter in one day, as a way to try and make up for the fact that I missed yesterday.**_

_**Well, if you are curious of anything else, ask in a review; I will more than likely tell you.**_

_**As always, good day, good night!**_


	4. The Test and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**Previously on the Body and Soul**_

"My apologies," Jack started with a fake accent as Johnson put a hand to his chest, "My name is Jack Gilligan Johnson, and Grimm run in fear once they see my weapon," Johnson held up the cane, "the fearsome, the terrifying, Gerold!" No one expected the cane's name to be Gerold, so everyone that heard his outburst was immediately stupefied; it also included Yang and Ruby because he never introduced himself in such a way in the past. That allowed him to have Johnson be able to walk away without any objections.

"_Too many people," _he thought.

_**Six Hours Later, Beacon Dinning Hall**_

It took Jack all of that time to find this place, and now Johnson had the bandana down in order to eat the sandwich in front of him and revealing part of an emotionless face. _"They really need to give us a map of the place, I mean, it took a few hours for me to find this place," _he gave a small chuckle as he thought, _"Heh, just in time for Johnson to have some dinner I suppose. Too bad there wasn't any cereal." _Even though Jack couldn't eat anymore, something he was a bit sad about, he didn't have to worry about feeling hunger, fatigue, thirst, or any of the other things—which made him a bit happier about it. Though, all he needed to worry about now is if Johnson would inform him if he was hungry or not. Time may tell, or Jack could order it to do it, if he thought about doing that.

Sitting for a few minutes Jack was feeling like he forgot something, until he remembered that the test was never complete. He looked at Johnson and saw that the body finished the meal and had the bandana back on. "Johnson, we never finish what we started earlier, so why don't we do it now? Do you remember the rules?" a nod, "Good." Jack has to participate too, so let the test begin, "Go."

Everyone from earlier was there, from the tail-coat guy to Weiss Schnee, but Jack also noticed a few others that caught his eyes. They were a group of four guys in some armor; it looked like they had a little too much testosterone if anyone would ask Jack about it. Outside of them, Jack didn't find any other person of importance.

"Objective complete," Johnson plainly said. "Female, redhead, warrior, threat level: low," he pointed at the girl that made Jack think of cereal.

Jack was confused about the threat level thing so he asked, "Threat level? Do you mean skill?"

Johnson explained what it was, "Not skill. Expression, action, stance convey intent. Won't attack Body or Soul."

Jack wanted to get it right, so he asked for conformation, "All right, so the threat level isn't based on skill, it's based on their probability of harming us."

Johnson gave a simple, "Yes," before he continued on about who he saw. It seemed that Jack and Johnson had the same way of choosing what important, and no one had a threat level higher than low; well, except for a few people. Johnson gave five people a mid-threat level. Weiss getting one was something Jack should have expected, but he didn't. The other four were given to the group of armored guys, maybe it was the testosterone?

Jack looked out the window and saw that the sun was nearly bellow the horizon, so he gave a small command, "Come on Johnson, it's getting late and we need to find the ballroom, so follow me." Johnson got up from the table and followed as Jack let them out of the food hall.

_**Two Hours Later, Beacon Ballroom**_

_"How does it take me this long to find where I'm going, I feel like I missed something somewhere," _Jack complained in his mind. He did miss something. After orientation the first-years where supposed to go on a tour of the school, but he didn't because he left before it started. Looking around the large room, he saw a familiar mane of blonde and the familiar eyes of another with a familiar blue luggage, _"Where did they get that?"_

* * *

><p>The body was ordered to travel towards the two females, and it did. The body heard the soul make a comment of how he must have been chopper-liver to the low-threat females, as it started to look around the room for any threats. The body's job was to protect the soul, as does the soul protect the body. The body's secondary objective is to follow the soul's command. Never did it truly follow the commands. Upon the airship, it didn't sleep; it scanned the room for any threats, never noticing the soul's absence. In the auditorium, it never stopped looking around the room. In the dining hall, the targets of importance were already found; it only continued to ascertain the threats of the room. The body only needs nutrition, water, and rest to complete its objectives. It required nothing more. It needed nothing less.<p>

* * *

><p>"So, Miss Fire Head," Jack was the one steering the conversation now, "why do you have my stuff?"<p>

Yang gave a smile, "Well, after the tour of the school was over they were handing everyone back their stuff, and this one was sitting there all alone. We noticed you weren't on the tour with us so we assumed that this was yours. After politely asking them if we could bring it to you."

Ruby gave a small interjection, "You punched him in the face after he said, 'No.'"

Yang continued like she didn't even hear it, "Knowing you, there had to be something strange with it, so what is it?" Her face was curious as she thought of what the secrets of the luggage could possibly be.

"Well," Johnson put a hand to his chin and slightly tilted his head, "call me paranoid, but the handle turns into a sword. Is that something you want to know?"

Yang's eye almost twitched when she commented, "You're paranoid."

Jack gave a bellowing laughter, "You think that's paranoid? Heh, what do you think the extra wheels are for?"

A small comment came from Ruby when she tilted her head, "I thought it was so you could roll around on it."

He was now giving a few small chuckles, "That maybe a reason, but its main goal is to be a grenade!" He really did like confusing people, it allowed for time to do things, like take his stuff back. "You can never really beat a good explosive!" It was with those words that Jack commanded his former body to depart.

On the way to a secluded corner, Jack thought of something to ask Johnson, "Do you think I can still sleep?"

"No," it said, "Sleep for Body, not Soul. Reason of dreams." The answer was simple apparently.

Jack was a bit disheartened about that, but now he knew the reasons for dreams. He ordered Johnson to go to sleep, it was now that it truly complied and rested. _"I guess now would be a good time to test some more theories I have," _he thought.

He went through the ballroom wall, never to be heard from until the next day

_**End**_

_**I'm sure you're all so curious as to what the threat levels are, so I guess I'll tell you. There are actually two types of threat levels in the story. One is for scouting out someone, will they attack? The other is for after the battle begins, and is—in fact—their skill level. The first set is:**_

_**Low-threat: possibility of attack is about 0%-33%. The currently known—to the body—low-threats are tail-coat guy, hyper girl, redhead, Jaune, Ruby, Yang, and the old man.**_

_**Medium-threat: possibility of attack is about 34%-66%. The currently known—again to the body—medium-threats are the brunette with the bow, Weiss, and the testosterone squad.**_

_**High-threat: possibility of attack is about 67%-100%. There are no known high-threats as of this chapter.**_

_**The second set is:**_

_**Omega-threat: their skill is only something to laugh at. Those that are an omega-threat are generally thugs or the average Beowolf.**_

_**Beta-threat: their skill is not something the body can easily scoff at. Those that are a beta-threat are generally Ursai or Boarbatusks. **_

_**Alpha-threat: their skill is something that the body will definitely have a hard time competing with, and may even be defeated by those with this level. Those that are an alpha-threat are generally stronger than any of the previously mentioned.**_

_**Well, as with any other chapter, leave a review of any questions you may have, and I will try to answer them.**_

_**Good sun, good moon.**_


	5. The Launch and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**Previously on the Body and Soul**_

Jack was a bit disheartened about that, but now he knew the reasons for dreams. He ordered Johnson to go to sleep, it was now that it truly complied and rested. _"I guess now would be a good time to test some more theories I have," _he thought.

He went through the ballroom wall, never to be heard from until the next day

_**Before Dawn, Same Location**_

Jack had just returned to where Johnson slept after exploring all of Beacon, he will still be lost though. He also discovered a few things that he could do, like the fact that he doesn't need to walk on the ground, he could fly or walk on the air. Either way he is never truly touching the ground, he is a nonentity after all; as such, he is the one that controls where his is located. He could be lighter than air, or heavier than boulders, but he needs his Aura for that one. As a non-entity, he could control his entire being, but only his aura could become visible. Strange isn't it?

He woke up Johnson so they could complete the morning routines before anyone else woke up, there was no need of letting them question the few burns he had. It's not like he got it from anything serious, only on a few small screw ups of Dust. Maybe a lot of Dust screw ups, but it's neither here nor there. The burns ran up his arms, starting at the tip of his fingers and ending at his shoulders. Its pain never quite reached him anymore, but he didn't mind as it allowed him to continue on with life without something interrupting it. It only occasionally bothered him. Now it would only bother Johnson on rare events, probably.

He didn't notice Johnson finish as he lost his thought. It only took twenty minutes for everything, except for eating and weapon maintenance as they didn't do either one yet. Jack regained his thought when something occurred to him, _"I haven't made the special rounds for Gerold yet." _Having Johnson gather all the supplies, they headed for the roof; he didn't need anyone caught in the explosion if something happened. Gerold doesn't fire the average Dust round; it fires a special combination of three rounds at a time, so it is like a shotgun with bigger pellets. The three rounds are welded together, only a few of them explode in the process.

He was lucky this time as none of them exploded today. Johnson started loading the special rounds evenly into fifteen different clips. Gerold can't hold the clip inside of it when it's in the cane state, so he usually keeps the clips inside a few of the many pockets in the trench coat. How he does? No one knows.

Finishing that up, Johnson was moved to the crystals. The fire crystals were a bit interesting; unlike the other types of Dust, fire Dust creates a larger explosion based on the amount of force that is exerted upon it. Jack found that out in the test that burned his left hand, not the entire arm yet. That isn't known to many people, as very few people fight like Jack. He knows this, but he felt that it didn't give enough kick with how he used it; so, he searched for a way to make it more reactive. He found the way by accidentally mixing it with some powdered wind Dust, burning his right hand and forearm. Jack might have memorized all of the safety protocols for Dust, but that didn't mean he listened to them in his experimentation lab, a place where he only needed to worry about his own safety—something he disregards if it means he learns something new from it.

Johnson was finished and Jack had him put the reactive fire Dust in the coat and put it on along with the gloves. The sun has finally risen, and Jack decided that Johnson should get some breakfast, _"I think he should have some cereal."_

_**Fifteen Minutes Later, Beacon Dinning Hall**_

Jack couldn't believe how close the food hall was to the ballroom, he must have walked past it hundred times! It was odd how empty the place was; when just last night, it was filled to the brim people. It was only Jack, Johnson, tail-coat guy, hyper girl, and a few of the culinarians. Finally finding some cereal, surprisingly being Pumpkin Pete's, he found out why the redhead seemed so familiar; she was actually on the cover of the cereal box. _"So that's why she was familiar, she's on the front of the box of my favorite cereal." _He was surprised, but not to the point of shouting in shock; Beacon is a very prestigious academy, and if a cereal box model wanted to get into it, they would probably only need to pass the combat test. That meant that she had to be a skilled fighter.

Looking over to the stoic and hyper duo, Jack decided it was time to make some more friends. Having Johnson moved to them, he shouted a greeting. The hyper girl shouted back and the tail-coat guy waved. "Do either of you mind if I sit here," Jack asked.

The guy only shook his head, but the girl spoke up, "You can, but you need to answer a question."

"Shoot," was the response.

"Do you like sloths?" she inquired.

"Johnson, look shocked," he whispered. Johnson put his free hand to his chest and stepped back as Jack continued towards the girl, "'Do I like sloths?' Of course I like sloths, they are nature's way of saying that one doesn't need to be fast, or do much, to live; they only need to be smart. They are my perfect role model on occasions."

She gasped, "Look, Ren, another person that appreciates the power of the sloth!" It was now that she saw that Johnson was still standing, "You passed! You can sit now!"

Jack lolled his eyes as he told Johnson to sit down. When Johnson was fully seated, Jack joked, "What are you? Queen of the castle?"

She gained a gleam in her eye as she shouted, "Yes!" Jack believed everyone was entitled to a healthy amount of mental instability, himself included.

Everyone became familiar with one another; the tail-coat guy was named Ren Lie and the hyper girl was Nora Valkyrie, but Jack could call them Rennelo and Queen. The conversation started to go towards what their weapons were. "I have a hammer named Magnhild, it goes boom and turns into a grenade launcher," the castle queen exclaimed.

"Explosions?" Jack questioned. "Awesome!" He told Johnson to raise his hand to high-five the girl, and they did. He continued, "I, myself, use explosions with my main weapon," Johnson was told to put Gerold on the table, "This guy—right here—is my main man. His name is Gerold, and this Dust crystal is a special concoction I made to make it a very reactive, and very explosive. Nothing on this thing was put there without the intent to use it as a weapon. The grip is metal and digs into my enemies, but that's just a single example. There's a few more, but I would like to leave that as a surprise." Jack then questioned Ren, "What do you use, Rennelo?"

His response was simple, as he didn't seem completely awake yet, "Twin sub-machine guns with vertical blade attachments. I call them StormFlower."

Jack would have asked Ren to elaborate on it, but the voice of professor Goodwitch sounded from the loudspeakers in the room. "All first year students have forty five minutes to get to the Beacon Cliffs. That is all."

Ren sighed as he finished his pancakes, "Come on, we should head to the lockers to get our stuff."

"We have lockers?" Jack questioned. Maybe if he was at the tour, he would have known.

It was time to cue in Nora, "Of course we have lockers! Weren't you on the tour?"

"I feel like the only one that didn't know about the tour," Jack complained, "I try finding this place after orientation and it turns out there was a tour!" Johnson was correct in flailing his arms at the end.

"Why don't you ask one of the professors after initiation," Ren calmly suggested, "Meanwhile, through the doors is a straight path that should take you to the cliffs. It shouldn't take you more than ten minutes to get there."

"Alright, thanks," Jack said while also ordering Johnson to start making his way to the door, "I do hope to see you two afterwards!" They went throughout the doors and started on the path.

_**Forty Five Minutes Later, Beacon Cliffs**_

_"That's it,"_ Jack thought. _"Stop trusting tired people with information and directions." _He only just arrived to the cliffs, after everyone else. The path was not straight; Beacon was a maze, there was no such thing as a straight path in a maze! It twisted, it turned, and it curved; how people never became lost at Beacon was beyond Jack. There was only one pad left to stand on, and that was directly in front of professor Ozpin and next to Jaune.

"Now that everyone is here, we may begin," the headmaster started. "For years, you have trained to become Hunters. Your skills will be evaluated today in the Emerald Forest."

After Ozpin paused, Goodwitch continued, "Now, many have probably heard of the rumors about the assignment of teams," Jack hasn't. "I'll lay your worries to rest. Each of you will be given teammates, today," Jack wasn't bothered by that. She stopped as to let Ozpin continue.

"They will be your teammate for the rest of your stay at Beacon," he stated plainly, taking a sip of his coffee. "With that being said, you should try to partner up with someone you work well with. The rule is: the first person you make eye contact with—after landing—will be your partner for the next four years." Jack didn't like that rule, but he could live with it, unlike whoever gave that loud screech. "You are to continue to the northern end of the forest." he continued. "Best be prepared for the opposition along the way. You should not be afraid to destroy everything—and anything—in your way, or you will die." He took a sip from his mug, like he didn't just tell children they could die in the forest. "During the initiation, you will be monitored and graded; however, the instructors will not intervene." The instructions came forth again. "At the end of the path, there will be an abandoned temple with multiple relics. Each pair is to retrieve one and return back here. You are to guard your item and standing, with that you will be graded appropriately." There was a slight pause before he asked, "Are there any question?" Jaune raised his hand, but that was ignored. "Good. Then take your positions!" Jack wondered what he meant by that.

"Uh, sir?" Jaune questioned timidly, "I, uh, I have a question," someone was flung into the forest, answering Jack's unasked question. "This landing strategy, thing, what is it? Are you dropping us off, or something?"

"No," Ozpin replied dryly. "You will be falling."

"I see?" it sounded like a question. "Did you hand out parachutes?"

"No," his tone still hasn't changed, "You will be using your own landing strategy."

Jaune still had one last question, "What is a landing strategy?" Well that was what Jack assumed the question was, as Jaune was launched halfway through that last word, turning the question into a shout of terror as he ungracefully flew through the air.

Seeing that Johnson was the final initiate, Jack questioned Ozpin, "You must love you job, don't you?"

The headmaster gave a slight smirk as he sipped his caffeine before answering, "I do." Finally, Johnson was off.

_"I should catch up to him," _Jack thought as he looked at the diminishing form of his former body. Now Jack was off.

_**End**_

_**Yes, yes, yes. I do realize that I have been keep you all from the fights until now so I hope you enjoy the next chapter—which will have action and violence—so you should wait patiently for tomorrow to come with the chapter.**_

_**Also, yes, Jack knows how to do things with dust and guns. He**_

_**If you have a question, then I hope you ask them with some sort of way; it would mean that you don't need to question as many things as you normally would, but if you want to question and form an answer yourself, do it. I will just continue with my marry way.**_

_**With the same message as usual, I say, "Good day and good night."**_


	6. The Body and Battle

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**Previously on the Body and Soul**_

Seeing that Johnson was the final initiate, Jack questioned Ozpin, "You must love you job, don't you?"

The headmaster gave a slight smirk as he sipped his caffeine before answering, "I do." Finally, Johnson was off.

_"I should catch up to him," _Jack thought as he looked at the diminishing form of his former body. Now Jack was off.

_**Same Time, the Body's Aerial Location**_

Wind blew against the body; the trench coat was fluttering quickly and the hat never budging. It ran the different ways to land through its mind. There were very few ways to land safely without Aura, and those few ways always included some form of damage to itself. Seeing that the trees were fast approaching, it made the decision quickly.

The weapon was quickly brought into the grasp of the body. The weapon gave a slight shift as the end converged to make a dangerous point. It was quickly jammed into the tree it nearly passed, dislocating the body's right shoulder in the process. The body gave a small hiss from the pain, but it was bearable; all it needed to do now was climb down and relocate the shoulder. That was easier said than done with a single arm.

It repeated the process of removing the weapon from the tree, only to pushing it back in after a few feet. It took a little while, but its sandals finally touched the dirt of the forest. Now it was time to relocate the shoulder. It stabbed the weapon in the ground and aligned its shoulder to the tree. The first ram didn't work; it only caused it an annoyance from the pain. The second ram brought about more pain than the dislocation, but still didn't work. The third time worked, but the body barely held in its scream of pain to avoid giving its position away.

Rubbing the sore joint, the body looked around. It would usually see a small blur of where the soul was, but it saw nothing like that. _"Body need way to track Soul,"_ it thought. The body continued its search in the clearing but it was interrupted.

"Jonson," the shout went through the clearing, "up here!" The body looked up and saw the blur. The body and soul have reunited. "We need to head north!" the soul shouted, clearly excited about what could be found in the forest. The soul had so much wasted movement and energy. Always moving, rarely staying still anymore. Before separating, the soul would rarely ask for the body to move too much, so why now?

The soul had the body walk in the direction of "north". Step by step, the body was cautious as the two continued. The words spoken by the high-threat male stayed in the body's head. It gave warning that all in the forest were high-level threats. The body would not allow the soul any harm because it looked over a small creature.

A primal growl was heard from the bushes to their right, the body falling into the fighting stance the muscle remembered. Body almost perpendicular from the threat, feet at shoulder width, left arm forward, and right arm shouldered the weapon. It was a strange stance to many, but the soul had the body trained with it for years, trying to take away all of the small kinks. It allowed for a stage of confusion at the beginning of a spar against a human or Faunus. The creatures of Grimm, however, never had that stage of confusion.

From the foliage, a group of large, black furred creatures emerged and surrounded the body and soul. Only one was larger than the body, the rest were only just as tall. Their bodies look to be built more for speed than anything else. Ivory bone plating covered these creatures, more so on the largest of them. There were eleven in all, if the body could count correctly. The man didn't lie; these beings were a high-level threat.

One of the smaller ones moved, and so did the body. It didn't seem to aim for the body; it aimed at something next to the body. It only meant the creatures were distracted and not trying to eliminate the appropriate threat first. The first one died when the weapon pierced its throat and left just as quickly; it choked upon its own blood, and stopped moving. The creature's blood never touched the body's coat. If the others' skills are to be determined by that one's skill, then all, except the largest, should all be omega-threats.

The next two tried coming at once from both sides, they still didn't seem to aim for the body, and that confused it. It was only after the creature pasted the body did it realize what the creature was after. It was headed for the soul. These creatures of darkness, beings without a soul, could also see the soul; however, these creatures aimed to harm the soul. The body could only turn in time to see the creature slash at the soul's location and hear the soul scream in pain.

Time stopped as the body reassessed their threat levels, _"Creatures of Grimm, able to directly harm Soul. Eliminate with extreme prejudice."_

Time flew back into motion, and so did the body. It cocked back its right arm and let it loose, throwing the weapon like a javelin; the body sprinted after the weapon, reaching into the large coat for a clip. The weapon pierced the creature's bone plating and destroyed the brain in a single motion. The body removed the weapon before the corpse hit the ground. The weapon shifted into the ranged form and the clip was inserted in a single motion, no time could be wasted in this situation.

Taking a swift aim at the creature closing in on the soul, three Dust rounds found themselves in the creature's heart and lungs with resounding bang. Normally the weapon's recoil would make a slight pause in battle, but not now with the body's iron grip, and it forcing adrenaline through its veins. Now there was nearly zero recoil, the weapon's only movement was from the chamber being cleared of the three bullet cases. The next four came.

The weapon stayed in its ranged form, as an invisible mark was made on the nearest creature. Not a second passes and the second bang is heard as the creature's head ceases to exist, eliminated. The clip of the weapon dropped as it shifted back to its melee form, but it didn't form the dangerous point as that was unneeded now. The end was gripped in the left hand as it was swung through the air, aiming at the creature that became too close to the soul; the sharp teeth of the hand grip dug into the creature's neck, and the flesh was mauled when the body pulled back, another one dead. The other two rushed in together side by side, a mistake. Throwing the weapon like a javelin again, only this time it was Dust crystal first. The deafening explosion rocked the earth. There was nothing left of the two corpses.

The weapon was flung back into the grip of the body; and, it was shifted back into its ranged form as the body picked the clip up from the ground and inserted into the weapon, it was cocked and three cases exited. The remaining smaller creatures rushed forth at once, none staying near the other, but that wasn't needed. A single shot for each one was all that was needed to end them. One lost a head, while the next lost the major respiratory organs, and the last lost connection between the head and the body. All that was left was the large one, the body designated it as an alpha-threat, based upon its size and extra plating; so, the body reloaded, letting the empty clip fall to the ground to be attended to later.

The last one standing let out a thunderous howl, as it knew that the body would be difficult to defeat alone and that the soul couldn't be dealt with until the body was taken care of. The body didn't let it finish the howl; it fired the weapon once, twice, thrice, into the large one's bone plated torso. It only took a single step back and shrugged off the damage. It growled at the body, and the body replied in kind by growling back and unloading the last two shots of the clip into the same spot as the previous three times. The damage only made a small hole in the plate. The second clip was left to drop as the weapon shifted into the melee form as the alpha-threat charged.

The body held the weapon by the end and weaved under the creature's large swing. The body was about to send the weapon's teeth into the beast's almost unprotected back, but that idea ended when the creature gave it a powerful back kick. The claws of the creature's foot tore through the body's torso flesh, human blood was finally spilt; and though the pain was dulled by the amount of adrenalin coursing through its blood, it was still unbearable.

The body flew to the other side of the clearing and crashing into the now broken bark of a tree. The body had to turn off the pain receptors for the rest of this fight, it would only get in the way, and it couldn't stand with it on now. It loaded a Dust crystal into the top of the weapon and prepare for another javelin throw when the creature charged. Although the weapon was not as fast as the time before, it still did its job when it made contact with the torso of the creature. The explosion gave a grand display and tossed the weapon at the feet of the body.

The body picked up the weapon and shifted it to ranged form, but was slightly different. The barrel was wider than before and wasn't open to the clip like before, only a small slide on the side. Remove its hat, the body saw three individual bullets; however, these weren't normal bullets, they were the size of five of the average dust rounds. The soul would affectionately call them his "Lucky Shots". Taking one from the hat, and putting it back on its head, the body loaded the Lucky Shot into the weapon and aimed into the cloud of smoke, bracing the weapon with both hands.

The smoke cleared and the creature was revealed to be heavily damaged, but still ready to fight. Any place on the creature that wasn't covered in plating was bleeding, but the bone continued to hold strong, barely any scratches. The creature found its target after the dust settled and continued its charge, but this time at a much slower pace.

The body waited for the creature to be closer, as it couldn't miss this shot. It aimed at the small hole in the creature's chest plating. The hole was only barely large enough to fit the diameter of the Lucky Shot, so there had to be no hope of missing. It closed the distance: nine yards, six yards, three yards. It was at a single yard away when the body fired the weapon.

The shot was louder than any explosion the body caused today, the recoil dislocating both shoulders and breaking its right wrist; there was no pain because the body turned off the receptors for it. The Lucky Shot barely punched through the small hole in the plating. It carried enough force to toss back the alpha-threat and kill it before it could attack the body.

_"Objective complete," _it thought as it finally let itself shut down in order to focus on recuperating.

_**Same Time, Beacon Cliffs**_

The headmaster and professor watched the battle through their scrolls. The two of them were evaluating his skills; except, one was unconcerned with the damage he took and the other gave some small concern. "Say what you will," Glynda spoke to him, "but I don't think he should be here either. It was recorded that he can't unlock his Aura, and he obviously has a poor defense." She sighed as she rubbed her forehead, "Jaune at least has Pyrrha and the rest of his soon to be teammates to help him. With how it is now, I think he will end as the True Man Out this year."

"True Man Out," certainly is an odd title; it came from the title, "Odd Man Out." Every few years, Beacon receives and odd number of initiates; and so, the initiate without a partner from initiation is automatically given the title of Odd Man Out. If they retrieve a relic and return, the title stays and a three man team is formed. If they arrive at the temple after all the true relics are gone, but they still take something from the temple and return, they are allowed to stay at Beacon; however, their title will be changed to True Man Out, as they will have no team.

Ozpin had some more coffee before he responded, "Have faith, Glynda, I know what I'm doing."

She could only give a huff as she rolled her eyes. They stopped monitoring the kid, as they still needed to grade the other initiates.

_**Thirty Minutes Later, Emerald Forest Clearing**_

Jack has never felt so much pain in his life. He briefly question if that was what it felt like to lose a limb, but his turned his mind to other things, the pain now sitting in the back of his mind. He looked around the clearing and saw the damage done to it. There were two extremely large craters, ten dead Beowolves, and a dead Alpha Beowolf. Something was missing, and that was Johnson.

Searching for the location of his body, Jack spotted him across the clearing near the Alpha Beowolf corpse, and he was also on the ground. That can't possibly be good. He rushed over to the body; it felt like he ran for hours to get to him.

He activated his Aura, so he could interact with his former body. It was turned over, and Jack could finally see the damage, the chest was bleeding profusely. Unknown to Jack, having his Aura active, and right next to Johnson, caused the body to start healing; but, he didn't realize that in the state he was in.

* * *

><p>Aura doesn't heal a wound by creating something from nothing; it only speeds up the process of regeneration. It can't heal a wound when the cells around it don't have the nutrients required to multiply. The bone marrow can't make more blood just because the Aura was there. The Aura is naturally brought into the cells and converted into energy to be used. The energy allows the cells' speed to go on overdrive. Many would say that it was a part of the many wonders of Aura that allowed it.<p>

* * *

><p>The body noticed the Aura around it but it didn't recognize the owner. It took the risk of accepting unknown Aura because it had little to lose in the state it was in. Nearly all of the wounds were healing: the chest was only bleeding a small amount now, the wrist was fixed but fragile, and enough blood was formed to counter act the blood loss and then some, the shoulder were still dislocated. The wonders of Aura, isn't it?<p>

As the body no longer needed to shift all of its focus to healing, it opened its eyes to see the soul panicking above it with its Aura active. That explained where the Aura came from. It couldn't understand if the soul was panicking because it failed its job to protect the body or it didn't know what to do. _"Both,"_ it decided. "Soul," it tried to gain the soul's attention, "calm."

* * *

><p>Jack heard Johnson speak, so he looked at him just in time to hear him be told to calm. He cooled down and asked, "Are you awake?" A nod was the response. He asked another question, "Do you need any help?"<p>

"Help Body up," Johnson responded.

"Okay," Jack muttered as he pulled up his former body by the tattered remains of his shirt. After getting up, Johnson walked to the nearest unbroken tree with limp arms. It bashed its right arm against the trunk and rolled it around. It did the same for his left. Jack wondered if Johnson dislocated them.

As neither of them had anymore to accomplish in the area after they picked up the ammunition clips, they headed for the temple again; only this time, they were both remaining cautious. They couldn't afford to lollygag, to screw around, or anything like that. They ended up in this condition because of Beowolves! They were like that because of the weakest species of Grimm! _"Holy Hell! Even Silver Eyes could've taken that group by herself and not get hit!" _He raged within his mind.

He realized something important to any of the oncoming battles. If he can interact with the world with the help of his Aura, then can't he use it to battle alongside his body? That possibility is high, but could only be tested against a Grimm or person. Maybe he could get lucky and come across a weakened Grimm to test his theory on. Maybe that luck was what caused an Ursa to stroll in their way.

There was only the single beast, and it also appeared to be injured as well. Whether it was muscular or fat was hidden beneath its blood stained obsidian fur. Its only bone plates were on its head and along its spine, the others seemed to be broken beyond all recognition. It had a noticeable limp and the tree branches sticking out of its back and sides looked burnt. The creature was obviously wounded and obviously the best test subject for Jack's experiment.

Jack's spectral body lit up with his rainbow-like Aura. "Johnson," he started, "I want you to stay out of this, unless my attack can't hit this thing." He settled into his fighting-stance when Johnson nodded. It looked reminiscent to that of a brawler's stance with a few differences. His partially open hands were in front of the face, left hand covering the top left and right covering the bottom right. His shoulders were angled for the right one to be slightly behind the left. His left foot was forward and his right foot was a bit behind the main body.

The two stood in front of each other, neither wanting to charge at the other. The Ursa because it knew that it couldn't fight anything in the condition it was in, so it only growled to show fake strength. Jack because he liked to fight based on reaction. They stood there for what seemed to be minutes before Jack swiftly shot himself at the beast.

The Grimm could obviously harm him without his Aura activated, but he was testing if he could harm the Grimm with his Aura activated. He jumped in order to deliver his patented, "Knee of Pain." Usually, for the Knee of Pain, Jack would charge at the enemy with a full sprint before jumping to knee their head, but it was done a bit differently this time. His top speed was still only just as fast as his body could sprint, but he used his Aura to increase his mass. He knows how one can get more force at the same speed, and that is with more mass. When his knee connected his mass was as much as a boulder and his speed swift. His glowing silhouette flew through the air.

When he connected the knee, the Ursa had no chance of survival. Increasing his mass with Aura produced the desired affects, and then some; the attack created a spectacular snap with the bonus of not harming Jack. The Ursa obviously couldn't handle the amazing attack as it ceased to live; the head was forced into an angle that shouldn't be possible, the mask-like bone plating doing nothing to help the Ursa's survival. With the test complete, Jack liked the results: he could hit the Grimm and he could make more damage with a bit more Aura. The best results anyone could get, if you asked Jack.

He deactivated his Aura when he spoke to Johnson, "Come on, we should hurry along now!" His voice carried the confidence he gained after the test, and anyone could hear it.

* * *

><p>The body understood why the soul was feeling the way it did, so it didn't give much reaction to the soul's confidence. It was only a tactical advantage, if you asked the body.<p>

_**End**_

_**Okay then! What a fight? I think it could have been better, but oh well. You may have a few questions as to what just happened, so I will answer them here and now.**_

_**Number One: **_

_**I added a few things for the Grimm species, each one get to have a higher tier basically. Beowolves would have an Alpha Beowolf. The Ursai would have the Ursa Major. The Boarbatusks have the Monarch Boarbatusk. The King Taijitus have the Emperor Taijitu. The Death Stalkers have the Death Hunters. And finally, the Nevermores have the Death Raven.**_

_**These stronger tiered Grimm are larger, stranger, and covered in more bone plating than the average ones. They become a higher tier by living long enough for it. Over time the Grimm naturally grow larger and bone plating cover more of their body's.**_

_**Number Two:**_

_**I made it so the fact that he could change his weight with his Aura actually mean something. He doesn't move any faster than he did before, he just deals more damage by adding mass, which doesn't slow him down.**_

_**If you have anything else you would like to know, just ask through a review or a PM.**_

_**With the same ending as always, Good day, Good night.**_


	7. The Ceremony and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY" because that belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "This isn't happening, this shouldn't be possible."

_**Writing:**_ "I'm doing what I can."

_**Thoughts/Dreams:**__ "I really want this to be over with."_

_**TRANSITION: Anything with this font**_

_**Previously on the Body and Soul**_

He deactivated his Aura when he spoke to Johnson, "Come on, we should hurry along now!" His voice carried the confidence he gained after the test, and anyone could hear it.

* * *

><p>The body understood why the soul was feeling the way it did, so it didn't give much reaction to the soul's confidence. It was only a tactical advantage, if you asked the body.<p>

_**Five Hours Later, Beacon Cliffs**_

Ozpin and Goodwitch sat on some foldable chairs that one of Beacon's custodians brought them, as they watched over Jack's performance. He was the only one left to watch over and grade, and he utterly failed the navigation portion of the test. He seemed to gravitate around the area of the temple, but he completely overlooked it when he did come across it, even passing through the temple without realizing it. It was too bad that he would end up as the True Man Out if he were to bring something back. Ozpin almost felt sorry for the kid, almost.

Goodwitch was tired of all of the waiting he caused her, "I think we should end our initiation now. He wasted enough time as it is."

"Glynda," Ozpin started, "we never gave him a time limit, so why act like there is?"

"Some missions don't have a time limit, but it could turn from success to failure if they were too slow," she responded.

Ozpin didn't seem to react much, "He's still young. We'll allow him a bit more time before we force that concept on him."

She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. She thought it was best to have something revealed early, so the person could get it over with quicker. Ozpin only revealed something when he believed they were ready for it. She trusted his judgment, his plans only failing on few occasions. She only hoped this plan didn't fail, as that usually leads to a person's death.

_**Same Time, Abandoned Temple**_

Even though they didn't find any more Grimm along the way, Jack was terrible with directions. Tell him to go in a straight line, and he will somehow find a way to turn that line into a grand labyrinth. It's the reason he liked maps so much, he can always follow a map. You can't tell him directions and expect him to get to the location on time without a map. The worse part about it is the fact that he is completely oblivious to the fact that he is horrible with directions without a map; he only realized that he gets to the location faster with a map. That is how he somehow found the temple by heading south.

The temple wasn't much in Jack's opinion as he examined the temple's perimeter. The moss covered, grey bricks were cracked, weathered, and destroyed. It was built in a circle, or would have if the southern half of the wall wasn't gone without a trace. All that was left was a crumbling wall, some fallen pillars, and about thirty or so podiums. He felt as if something should have been on one of the podiums, but he didn't know why. He questioned whether there were supposed to be something on them or not.

"Johnson," an idea came to the spirit, "we should take a podium as a relic." It was the only logical decision he could make from the situation. He knew he was late, but not late enough for all the relics to be gone. He was also terrible with time.

* * *

><p>It didn't argue, listening to the orders with only silent question. It lifted the object, only slightly, before placing it back down. It realized that the object was too heavy to follow both the order and its top priority. Turning back to the blur, it said, "Too heavy."<p>

* * *

><p>"Okay," Jack replied, "how 'bout I try?" Activating his Aura, he stepped close to the podium to grab it. He lifted it with a motion that made the stone object appear light as a feather, but he never noticed that his Aura flickered for a brief moment. He bounced the podium on his shoulders a few times to test the weight. After doing so, he was confused by why Johnson would say that it was too heavy. He voiced his question, "Hey Johnson, why did you say it was so heavy?"<p>

* * *

><p>"Body has muscle. Soul has Aura," it said. "Muscle has limit. Aura has none." It noticed the soul's Aura flicker again, the soul did not.<p>

* * *

><p>"Well okay then!" Jack shouted. "We should start heading back to the cliff, can't keep professor Ozdin waiting too long."<p>

* * *

><p>The body and soul left the temple, with the body trailing slightly behind the soul to make sure that any threats nearby couldn't harm the soul.<p>

_**Same Time, Beacon Cliffs**_

"Well," Ozpin started, "isn't this surprising?" The kid's transcripts and reports said that he was unable to unlock his Aura, with and without help. But here he was, using Aura as if it were an everyday occurrence. Maybe the year would be more interesting than he first thought.

Glynda didn't understand what she was seeing. She knew that it was Aura, but that was impossible from the kid. She read through the reports more thoroughly than Ozpin. She knew all the tests done; and with the results, he shouldn't be able to call upon it. She could only question, "How?"

_**Thirty Minutes Later, Bottom of Beacon Cliffs**_

They met very little opposition on the way to their location, and the one they did find were out quickly from Johnson spearing through their heads. There they stood, one questioning what happened, and the other wondering if there were any more enemies close by. Two giant Grimm corpses laid there. They were still turning into smoke, but it wasn't done because of their enormous size.

The larger one, looking to be nearly three stories tall, had wings with pitch black feathers; it looked like it died from decapitation, if its severed head was any indication. The smaller one, which was still larger than ten average humans, was absolutely covered in bone plating; it seemed to have died from its own stinger being cut off and jammed through its thick plating, if what was described held any truth. He stopped questioning what happened when he realized that it was of no concern to him.

"Well," Jack suddenly said, "we should start heading up." He flickered again, something that was happening with shorter intervals. It was amazing that Jack still hasn't noticed it.

There were no objections made, so they went to the base of the cliff face. Johnson was climbing slowly as to not agitate the chest wound or his wrist. Jack had no such limitation, so he floated up. He was at the top of the cliff in only a minute. After noting that it was a different section of the cliff, he set down the podium and went back down to get Johnson. There was barely a second in between each flicker now.

When he was at Johnson's level, Jack grabbed ahold of him and started going up; his speed seemed to be slightly reduced. He didn't notice that his speed was slower, or that his Aura was flickering every half second now. The body did notice that, but it didn't know what that would mean. They were lucky that they were at the top when it was discovered why his Aura was flickering.

Jack just made it to the top when his Aura suddenly cut off, making him drop his former body. Johnson wasn't prepared to fall so suddenly, but he adapted quickly. He reacted by stabbing Gerold into the cliff to make a hand hold; however, that exerted the wrist a bit too much as it fractured slightly. He got up by swinging himself up and using his feet to help him to the top.

Jack was a bit sheepish when he looked at Johnson. "Sorry," he said, "but I can't use my Aura anymore, so can you carry this back to Beacon?" He didn't linger on the fact that Johnson could have died a few seconds ago. He was still worried about initiation.

* * *

><p>The body could see clearly from their location to Beacon, so it decided that the area was safe. Hoisting the podium to his shoulders with its good hand, the body headed for Beacon, the soul trailing slightly behind this time.<p>

_**One Hour Later, Beacon Auditorium**_

Jack and Johnson, with wrappings around his wounds, stood side by side as the headmaster was announcing the teams. Jack wasn't paying much attention. He knew that wasn't the best idea, but it was so boring. He kept himself occupied by looking at each team as they were called up. He only barely noticed that they were formed in teams that shared a chess piece, but when did they get chess pieces? Why didn't he have one? He chose not to dwell on that, as he could at least tell that Beacon wasn't going to be boring.

One of the teams was comprised with three Faunus and a human. The first Faunus was an orange haired fox; she stood with narrowed eyes pointed towards the human of the group. The human was standing with a slouch, not caring about what was happening apparently; he had a pair of glasses upon his face that were so thick that Jack couldn't see the guy's eyes. The next Faunus was a hawk Faunus; he had a pair of brown feathered wings with white spots attached to his back. The last member was a lioness Faunus with dark blonde hair; neither she nor the hawk seemed to notice—or care—what the fox was doing. When they left, the orange-head had to drag the human off stage, as it didn't seem like he was responding to anything.

The next was a team of mix matched humans: three males, one female. The first one was a short boy with a pair of jeans and a normal t-shirt; he would occasionally look over towards the area with the rest of the initiates, only to look away with a mad blush on his face, strange. The one that stood beside him was a guy with an open trench coat—just like him; he stood with a sway of his body, seemingly drunk. The last male of the group was dressed in military fatigues; there seemed to be something wrong with the way he stood, because it looked like he was trying to stand at rest only to need to readjust himself half a second later. The final member was the only female in the new team, and she wore a blue hoodie and plaid skirt; her attention obviously wasn't on what Ozpin was saying, as she looked at something off to the distance with curious eyes. They had to have been the strangest team of the day.

There were many interesting people joining Beacon. Jack even saw that the testosterone squad was still together; he quietly wondered how they stuck together, but that wasn't his concern. It was in their similar armors that they stood at attention. It was with near perfect synchronization that they nodded their heads to what was said. They have known each other for years it would seem. They left when they were no longer needed.

He then saw Jaune's team; it had him, Nora, the redhead, and Ren, but he didn't pay attention to the name. Jaune was stunned by something that was said, only to be knocked over by the combat model. The team seemed to be very playful with each other. It was like they were friends for years. Jack didn't understand how that could happen so quickly.

The same could be said when Ruby's team was called up; that team was made of her, Weiss, the girl with the bow, and Yang. Like with Jaune, Ruby was stunned, but she was picked up into a hug by her sister. Weiss didn't look like the happiest camper to Jack, and the girl with the bow didn't react much.

No matter which team was introduced, there was clapping from all of the students, from first years to fourth years. The applauds went to each and every team. It may have been quieter for some and louder for others, but each group had some sort of clapping or cheering. Jack could understand why they were so excited. New people, that meant that things could be different. Welcome them with open arms.

"Jack Gilligan Johnson," Ozpin called, making the body and soul walk onto the stage, "you have failed to retrieve any of the true relics; however, you passed as we never told you what the relics were, and you brought back one of the stone podiums. You are this year's True Man Out. You are your only teammate, and your only leader. Congratulations, young man."

The room was silent. There was no clapping, no cheering, nothing. The first years weren't clapping; considering, they were either jealous that he got to be a one man team, or they were confused about why he was a one man team. The rest didn't clap because they were aware of what that title entailed. There were only two ways a True Man Out would end up: one of the strongest of their year or the dead man walking. They could only hope for the former, but they could tell it was going to be a long road to stop him from becoming the latter.

"This seems to be shaping up to an interesting year," Ozpin muttered before directing one of the staff members to guide the students to their dorms and hand out their scrolls.

_**One Hour Later, Beacon Dorms**_

Jack was given a room with a single bed, a nightstand, a closet, a work table, and a bathroom. All of the teams were given a room with four beds, four nightstands, a much larger closet, two work tables, and a bathroom that could fit the squads all together. He was fine with that because he was aware that he would be the only one staying in the room. He knew that he would be by himself, without a team, for his stay at Beacon; he could understand that.

He told Johnson to sleep in the bed as he started to organize all of his things. The first thing he took out of his luggage was a small radio. The device started to play some soft music, as Jack couldn't really tolerate a quiet room with nothing to do. That's how his night went. Johnson was asleep, Jack moved things around to his liking, and music played in the background.

_**End**_

_**Well, there you have it. The sixth seventh chapter is here. If you have a question, just leave a review and I will answer it, unless it has something to do with the plot that I cant reveal.**_

**Those non-canon teams that I introduced are not a part of my story's plot, whatsoever. The first one was team KAZE by QuietFever for his story, **"The Misadventures of a Sleepy Hunter"**. The other team was team DARN by diggix for his story **"The Misadventures of Team DARN"**. I would have described a third team, but the author of that team didn't respond and I'm not going to use it without the guy's permission. It was team ARES by Qopster for his story **"Team ARES"**. They are all stories that I would recommend that you read. The first for a comedic action mystery. The second for pure comedy. And the third for a comedic action.**

_**Good day people, sleep well.**_


	8. The Class and Soul

_**I don't own "RWBY". That is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "'Go that way,' I say!"

_**Thought/Dreams:**_ _"Half-awake people are not trustworthy with directions."_

_**Writing:**_ "The Grimm are a species of soulless creatures."

_**TRANSITION: "Anything with This Font."**_

_**Previously On "The Body and Soul".**_

He told Johnson to sleep in the bed as he started to organize all of his things. The first thing he took out of his luggage was a small radio. The device started to play some soft music, as Jack couldn't really tolerate a quiet room with nothing to do. That's how his night went, Johnson was asleep, Jack moved things around to his liking, and music played in the background.

_**Dawn, Same Location**_

The new day was the one that classes started on, so Jack and Johnson were ready before it could even begin. Johnson was dressed in a uniform that was provided with the dorm. It was a black suit with a golden trim, a blue vest, and a red tie. He was still wearing the same sunglasses, bandanna, and gloves as before; it made the "fancy look" moot and null.

Seeing as there was still a few hours left before class, they set off to search for someone that has a map he can have. There were many things they passed. They passed a few different courtyards, buildings, and the dining hall once or twice. The only thing they haven't passed was another student, and that is what bothered Jack. It gave him a strange feeling that he didn't understand, and he didn't like it.

Beacon was a school—a school that taught kids how to fight the creatures of Grimm—but a school nonetheless. He couldn't possibly be the only earlymore, so he could only question where everyone was. _"Maybe they are still in their dorms?"_ he questioned himself. _"That sucks." _

With nothing better to do, Johnson was ordered to sit on the bench that was in front of the entrance of the dining hall. He didn't think it was a good idea to try and find some sort of teacher to help him with directions—he might be late if he tried. He might as well wait for someone to come by. With how many people were in Beacon, there was a high chance that someone would come out eventually to get breakfast, and Jack knew that much at least. With that in mind, he waited.

He didn't have to wait for long. After only a minute or so of waiting, he saw someone coming to the dining hall. The man was a behemoth amongst giants—he had to be standing over seven feet. His orange hair surrounded his head like a mane, and it had black stripes going back. Various scars ran across his face, the most prominent one went vertically from the top of the right side of his forehead, through his eye, and ending at the bottom of his jaw. Jack thought, _"Maybe he knows where I can find a map?" _Leave it to him to not be intimidated by such an enormous figure.

* * *

><p>The body could tell that the male coming near them was dangerous. The way the male walked said the he was ready to fight for any reason. The scars spoke of difficult battles that he walked away from. The man's hard eyes gazed at everything, yet it never lingered. The male approaching was a high threat.<p>

* * *

><p>"Come Johnson, we must greet him," Jack quietly said into Johnson's ear. They stood and moved closer to the giant. "Hello there!" Jack shouted. "You wouldn't happen to know where any maps are, do you? Or where I can find where my schedule is?"<p>

"They should have gone over the maps during the tour," he replied in a flat tone.

"Of course it was on the tour!" Jack had enough of how many things he missed just because he wasn't on the tour. "That's the one thing that I miss after orientation! I just wanted to stop being surrounded by so many people! But I guess I had to be punished for such a simple reason," he stopped because he noticed that the guy was still looming over him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was ranting, wasn't I?"

"No, no. Why don't you continue? I found it amusing," the way he said it made it seem like it was sarcastic, yet it made it seem like it wasn't. "However, I can't let someone die just because they didn't know something. It's in your Scroll."

"My what?" Jack questioned. He had no hope at Beacon if he didn't have a clue what a Scroll was, or how to use it properly.

He brought out a small white rectangle with a yellow diamond in the direct middle, "This is a Scroll."

From there, Jack had to nearly pry information from the guy. It opens by pressing the diamond. The strange—to Jack—device had a few functions that are a part of it, and each function has a small icon to represent it. He was first shown the map function, and he was glad that he finally had a map; its icon was a compass pointing north. He then learned of the function that allowed him to look at his schedule, which also said what room numbers they were and any assignments he needs to accomplish; its icon was a red apple that had a green glow. The last one he showed was the Aura meter function, and he would need to synchronize his Aura frequency to the device to make it work; its icon was a picture of a silhouette of a face with a green bar underneath it. There was also a function that allowed him to call and message people, but Leo wouldn't elaborate on it, saying that it should have been self-explanatory; their icons were of a phone and text bubble respectively.

"Thanks a lot—I just realized that I don't know your name," he quietly ordered Johnson to put out his hand. "The name's Johnson. Gilligan Johnson. Jack Gilligan Johnson."

He didn't bother looking at the hand twice, "Leo."

"Well Leo, I must depart," he said before silently telling Johnson to walk away, before having to come back. "Well, I forgot about getting breakfast, so I shall be going this way!" He and Johnson were about to enter the hall of food, but they were stopped by Leo.

"Jack," he called out for the kid's attention, "how is your fighting skill?"

"Face him," Johnson followed the command. "Well, I wouldn't say that I'm the best, but I'm definitely not the worst. The fact that my Aura can't shield me in a fight may have something to do with that."

Now that was interesting. Leo knew that there were occasions that he only survived because his Aura protected him. The new blood must have some skill if he can get to Beacon without a shield. "Interesting," He said. "Meet me in the fifth training field in sector seven after the classes are over. Bring your team, prepare for combat, and don't keep me waiting." Leo received his food and started walking away.

"Well, he was interesting," Jack said after a few seconds. "I guess I know what I'm doing later." After Johnson ate his food, Jack had Johnson check his scroll for the first class; it was Grimm Studies with a "Port, Peter." Johnson then brought up the map, after Jack memorized the room number, and they set off to find the class.

_**Forty-Five Minutes Later, Grimm Studies Class**_

Jack may have gotten there fairly quickly, but the students weren't allowed in the classroom until a quarter before nine, and he had Johnson seat himself in the back corner of the room after the professor let them in. Professor Port was a burly, white haired man with a thick mustache. He wore a dark brown, double breasted suit with a gold trim. His weapon must have been the blunderbuss-axe on the wall above the board.

The professor didn't speak much, for he sat behind his desk, reading a newspaper. The minutes flew by, but the professor didn't do anything. He didn't pay attention to anything that happened in his class. He just read the news, with no care in the world. Jack had to wonder how he didn't notice Ruby's team and Jaune's team glamorously bursting into the room only seconds before the starting bell rang.

The professor seemed to wait for the ringing to stop, before slowly folding up the paper. He jumped to his feet and started announcing, "Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the Night! Yes, the Creatures of Grimm have many names! But to me, they are called 'Prey'!" He laughed loudly at his own joke, waking some of the people that quickly fell asleep because it was the first class of the day. "Well," he continued, "you will too—soon enough.

"The four kingdoms are safe havens in a treacherous world! Our world is teeming with creatures that would like nothing more than to rip you to shreds! That is where we come in. We are Hunters and Huntresses," he paused and—it looked like he—winked. "And as such, it is our jobs to protect the innocent. 'From what?' You may ask. 'The very world,' is the answer!"

There was only one other person truly paying attention to his lecture, and he stood up and shouted with agreement, raising his fist in the process. He quickly realized that he was the only person with excitement and became very embarrassed.

"You there!" Jack yelled out. "When the class is over, we must commence the highest of fives!" Johnson pointed at the enthusiastic kid a few rows down.

The kid was less embarrassed at almost being the only energetic person in the room.

"Any way," the mustached man continued. "That is what you're training to become. But first, let me tell you a story, a tale of a young, handsome man: me.

"When I was a boy, I lived in a small village a few miles outside of the kingdom of Vale with my grandfather. He used to be a Hunter, but he became retired from old age. We were attacked by packs of Beowolves almost every other day. We never tried hunting the pack after they fled, as we never had the manpower to do so.

"When I was fourteen, I became tired of the same routine, so I went to the retired hunter. 'Grandpa?' I asked him, 'Why is it that we don't just go to Vale?'

"Now—despite smelling of old cabbages—my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter,' he told me, 'look around you. Everyone you see has been living in this village for almost as long as they can remember—even I. Now it may be tiring fighting endless amounts of Grimm, but we have always been too stubborn to let them take our homes from us. Yet, none of us have enough energy to go and drive them into different lands after they attack us.'

"What he said to me put a fire in my heart. When the next pack attacked us, I waited. When they fled, I followed. When they rested, I attacked. With my grandfather's Blunderaxe in hand, I carved through the pack and made them fear my skill! After about thirty Grimm, their alpha came into the fray!

"I heard that if you capture the leader, the rest will run. So that is what I did. We were locked in fearsome hand-to-claw combat! I didn't want to risk accidentally killing the alpha if capturing it meant the rest would flee." He paused after hearing a few students in the front laughing.

Jack just realized that he was so enraptured by the tale, that he didn't notice that he moved to be right in front of the man telling it.

Port cleared his throat to gain their attention before continuing, "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my shear tenacity. So I captured it and brought to my village, and I was celebrated as a hero!" He gave a bow. "So in conclusion, a true Hunter must be honorable. A true Hunter must be dependable. A true Hunter must be strategic, well educated, and wise. Who among you think you have all of these qualities?"

Jack couldn't even start heading back to Johnson before the Schnee heiress shot her hand up while shouting, "I do, sir!"

"Then you have half an hour to get ready for battle," Port replied boisterously. The girl moved out the door quickly. "The rest of you," he continued, "study the anatomy of the Grimm on your scrolls. A battle against one of them will be demonstrated when Miss Schnee returns." With that said, everyone's Scroll went off, notifying the class of the new information.

For the thirty minutes, Jack and Johnson looked at the anatomy of three Grimm: Beowolf, Ursa, and Boarbatusk. The anatomy of the first two is common knowledge to anyone that graduated from Signal. The third one was new, though.

A Boarbatusk is one of the most armored lower-tiered species of Grimm out there. The armor plating covers nearly everything except for their soft underbelly. They have four eyes, and they have tiny spikes covering their tusks. They really were one of the toughest of the lower-tiered Grimm.

After twenty-nine minutes, Weiss re-entered the room in her combat apparel and Dust-powered rapier.

"Are you ready, Miss Schnee?" Port asked right next to a cage that definitely wasn't there earlier. He didn't wait for her response before he shouted, "Begin!" He took his weapon and sliced the lock off the door of the cage.

Bursting from the cage was a Boarbatusk. It huffed angrily at the girl and charged. Her team cheered for her, but after dodging the first charge, she yelled at Ruby about needing to concentrate. It made Jack express his dissatisfaction by telling Johnson to throw a paper ball at her, which he did. She continued to fight the creature, only getting distracted whenever Ruby cheered for her. After yelling at Ruby one final time, Weiss flipped the Grimm onto its back and stabbed the underbelly, swiftly ending its life.

* * *

><p>The mid-threat female could have done better. She constantly let herself be distracted, she yelled at someone that gave her advice and then follow the advice anyway. She failed to protect herself correctly. She was too reliant on her. When her focus was broken, her technique failed. However, from what the body has seen, she would considered an alpha-threat.<p>

* * *

><p>"Well done, Miss Schnee, well done," the professor clapped. "That was a marvelous display. Remember class, complete the required assignment by the time we meet again and stay vigilant!" He pushed another button, and the Scrolls were alerted again, most likely being about the assignment.<p>

Jack didn't forget about the enthusiastic guy from earlier. He had Johnson give the kid the best high-five possible. They stood on adjacent tables, and they jumped towards each other and high-fived with great force. The only reason they weren't on the ground in agony was because one had Aura to protect him, the other could barely feel anything because of burnt nerves. They left the room shortly after, never needing to say another word to the other.

With no one else around anymore, Jack started to casually talk to Johnson, "I know we are supposed to be doing something right now, but I can't remember what." He didn't know what he forgot, yet he knew that it had something to do with a training field.

He didn't expect Johnson to give a response, "Training room five, sector seven. High-threat male wants Soul there. Said to prepare for combat."

Jack didn't think it was necessary to question how he remembered, so he rolled with it, "So that is where we will be!"

_**End**_

_**Hello, people that read my story. I could say that I'm sorry for the wait in between this chapter and the pervious one, but that would be a blatant lie. Thus, I won't be giving an apology.**_

_**Also, if you didn't realize, an earlymore is a reference to the common phrase, "The early bird gets the worm." I only made it an earlymore instead of an early bird.**_

_**If you have any questions, ask it in a review or PM. I will answer it, if it doesn't contain any sort of hidden plot things.**_

_**As with all of my other chapters, have a nice day—or night.**_


	9. The Body and Fourth Year

_**I don't own "RWBY". That is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**_

_**Font:**_

_**Normal:**_ "'Go that way,' I say!"

_**Thought/Dreams:**_ _"Half-awake people are not trustworthy with directions."_

_**Writing:**_ "The Grimm are a species of soulless creatures."

_**TRANSITION: "Anything with This Font."**_

_**Previously on "The Body and Soul"**_

With no one else around anymore, Jack started to casually talk to Johnson, "I know we are supposed to be doing something right now, but I can't remember what." He didn't know what he forgot, yet he knew that it had something to do with a training field.

He didn't expect Johnson to give a response, "Training room five, sector seven. High-threat male wants Soul there. Said to prepare for combat."

Jack didn't think it was necessary to question how he remembered, so he rolled with it, "So that is where we will be!"

_**One Hour Later, Beacon's Fifth Training Field of Sector Seven**_

Jack expected many things when he went to the training field. He expected an open space. He thought it would be a grassy field outside. He assumed there was going to be wooden posts as training dummies. He guessed that the training fields of Beacon would have been similar to Signal's. What he got was nearly the exact opposite of what he expected.

His expectation of an open space was incorrect; it was a closed room. His thought of a grassy field wasn't right; it was a giant room made of cold, white steel. The assumption of wooden posts in the room didn't come true; it was barren with only Jack, Johnson, Leo, and two metal doors. The training fields of Beacon weren't close to the fields of Signal; they were completely foreign to him. He didn't understand how the room could've been considered a training field.

Leo sat in the direct middle of the room with his legs crossed and in his combat apparel. He didn't have much in terms of armor, but out of what he did have, they have seen better days. The front of his torso was bare of any sort of armor except for a set of extremely thick, steel pauldrons with many scratches and nicks. His body was littered with scars, too many to count. On his back was a giant, round sheet of thick steel, noticeably cleaner than his pauldrons—not by much, but still cleaner. His forearms were covered with steel guards that were just as thick as the pauldrons and just as pristine as the steel sheet on his back, and they also had intricate, black lines covering them. The forearm guards led to metal gloves that gave him steel claws. He wore a dark leather battle skirt that was covered in scale-like pieces of metal, and it ended just above his knees. Starting just below the joint was a pair of thick steel grieves with clawed toes—dim and scratched—just like most of his other pieces of armor.

* * *

><p>The body realized that it was only an omega-threat to the male. It could tell from scars of battle along his body that it was nothing more than an insignificant ant to him. The wisest action would be to not fight; however, if the soul will fight, the body would protect it. That was its duty to uphold, and that will its main priority until it let out its final breath.<p>

* * *

><p>"Where is your team?" Leo suddenly questioned.<p>

It took a few seconds for Jack to recover from the sudden question, "Well, I don't have one."

The giant didn't let any of his surprise show, "So there's a new True Man Out, is there?" The way he spoke confused Jack, but he wasn't able to ask anything before the man started speaking again, "Alright, let's see how long you'll live on a mission."

Jack couldn't help but question, "How are we going to do that?"

He started to get up as he elaborated, "I will run you through a few tests." He started to walk towards the back of the room, which had a door that Jack didn't notice before. Leo opened the door and passed through the opening.

Peering into the room, Jack noticed a few things about it. The room was much smaller than the other one, and it had a square podium with a small green screen sticking out of the side. Off to the side of the room was a large, dark table with the same type of screen on the wall above it. In the back of the room there was a wooden door.

"Hello Mister Tigris," a synthetic female voice spoke as a hologram of a business-like women appeared behind the podium, "are you here to recalibrate your weapons into the system?"

"No," he replied, "I'm testing the new blood." Jack assumed that he was talking about him.

"I'm sorry, but Beacon regulations state that a first year is not allowed to use the simulation rooms unless supervised by either a teacher or an administrator," the hologram stated.

He didn't seem too bothered by that, "That won't be necessary, we will only be sparring."

It processed the request for a little bit before speaking again, "Fourth year Leo Tigris has requested a duel with first year Jack Gilligan Johnson. Do you accept?"

Jack wasn't sure what happened, but he still responded, "I guess."

Nothing else about the duel was explained as the hologram turned to him, "Hello Jack Gilligan Johnson, I am the Holographic Assistant of Beacon Teachers and Students, but many have elected to call me, 'HABTS.' Usually, one of the combat instructors would show the training fields to the students, but it isn't uncommon for first years to get here on their own."

Unsure of what to do, Jack decided to roll with it, "All right HABTS, what do you need me to do for the duel?"

"It seems that you don't have your Aura synchronized with your Scroll," HABTS stated before asking, "would you like to do that now?"

All that was needed was a small portion of his Aura activated and it would scan its frequency. He did so while hiding in front of Johnson, so Leo couldn't see the Aura activate outside of the body. It only took a few seconds to familiarize itself to his Aura, "Aura synchronization complete. Mister Tigris, which field do you wish to start in?"

He didn't hesitate before responding, "Activate the standard field."

"Understood. Please wait for a moment," stated HABTS before the sound of metal screeching against metal and gears striking gears resounded from the larger room behind the door. "The standard field is ready. You may now enter."

After HABTS finished, they re-entered the previous room—Johnson more cautiously than Jack. The room was darker. Light only shined on a circle in the middle of the room and a small path from the door they opened to the circle. It looked as if the area around the circle was not there—only an abyss in its place.

* * *

><p>The body didn't know what hid in the darkness around them. An assortment of hidden traps could be around them, unknown until they activate. It didn't like the possibility, but it wouldn't speak about it. The body would be ready to defend against anything. It would be ready for any trap from the darkness. It only needed to wait.<p>

* * *

><p>With each step Johnson took, the floor panels fell with the sound of shifting gears. One by one, the panels fell in an oddly rhythmic pattern. It was mesmerizing—and very distracting. Jack almost didn't hear Leo speak.<p>

"I want to see your skill, new blood," he said. "We will fight, and I evaluate whether or not you're strong enough to be a True Man Out; however, I will limit myself in the fight."

"Would you like to modify the standard tournament rules?" HABTS caught what the fourth year said.

"Yes," he replied. "End the match only when the new blood has no more fight in him."

"Understood," it said.

Leo and Johnson finally stood in the center of the field, "Now, I've decided that I'm going to go easy on you. With that said, I will refrain from using Panthera's claws," the claws on his gauntlet shifted and rounded out to normal ends, and the claws at his toes retracted into the grieves, "Panthera's blades," Jack didn't know what he was talking about, "or Panthera's fury," and that was just as confusing.

"So, when do we start?" The younger one couldn't help but ask.

Leo didn't respond verbally.

* * *

><p>The body was sent across the arena like a rock skipping across a pond. It skipped across the ground four times and skidded to a stop on the fifth. It traveled approximately fifty feet, leaving behind the soul.<p>

It wasn't as ready as it thought it was.

The sternum was fractured, it realized, the coming battle will be a challenge. The body will need to be careful. The soul will need to help the body in the battle. They need to work as a team—and the soul was already attacking the alpha-threat male.

The body quickly raised to its feet and shot of in order to join the battle.

* * *

><p>Jack didn't know what happened, but he also didn't care.<p>

After Johnson was hit, he started his retaliation. It was done secretly. He backed up before sprinting at his target. Activating his Aura, Jack increased his mass before delivering his Knee of Pain.

It made contact with the front of the giant's head, but it didn't matter to the man. The attack did virtually nothing. With Leo's Aura taking the brunt of the blow, he didn't need to make a move. He just stood there with a spectral knee in his face and a smirk forming on his face. Not wanting to stay in that position any longer, Jack kicked off of his opponent's chest.

Landing next to his former body, Jack quietly told him to stop. They definitely needed a plan to fight this new foe.

"You have ten seconds!" Leo shouted. "Ten seconds to make your next move, or I'll make one for you!"

It made Jack think quicker. It took only a second to come up with a plan. It took six seconds to tell Johnson. It took two seconds to rush towards the fourth year. It took one second for the plan to initiate. However, it wasn't quick enough.

Even though they were pushing the limits of their speed, Leo was still faster. In the time it took for Johnson to swing his weapon, the behemoth delivered a swift kick to his abdomen, sending him away to the edge of the arena again. Jack tried to attack his blind spot, but he was detained by a quick jab hitting his silhouetted torso.

With his Aura flickering away, he flew across the field, on the exact opposite side of his former body, "All according to plan."

Jack activated his Aura to signal the start of the second part of the plan. Almost like there was a mirror in between them, they rushed the enemy at the center of the arena. Each step taken was in sync with the one on the other side of the field. It was as if a single person was perfectly guiding two puppets to the same location.

* * *

><p>The body followed the plan clearly. It dropped a small bundle of cloth on the ground before attacking the immediate threat. Barely able to follow the movement of the high-threat, the body could only barely dodge the foot of the opposition. Its job in the plan was to only distract, nothing more.<p>

* * *

><p>Jack couldn't dwell on the fact that his former body was lasting extremely well, so he followed up by holding his part of the plan. Quickly picking up the cloth bundle, he unrolled it to reveal one of his special Dust crystals. Its surface shined with crimson and white. He tried channeling Aura into the special crystal.<p>

He always heard of the stories of the Hunters that controlled the very elements with Dust. He was taught that Dust reacted to Auras' touch. He heard how it required extensive training and discipline to effectively be a Dust Mage—as they are called. He could only hope that he could recreate one of the many spectacles from the stories in the situation he was in.

The wind Dust was activated first. His rainbow-like Aura rapidly shifted into a brilliant, silver shine. As wind started blasting the area, Johnson was shoved away from his fight and Leo's attention was captured. The windstorm only lasted a few brief seconds, yet it was enough to relocate the former body out of the immediate fighting zone and ruffle Leo's mane.

The next to activate was the fire Dust. His bright silver Aura quickly darkened into a menacing red. Fire sprouted up from his silhouette with a heat that Leo could feel from his distance. The crystal relocated itself to the center of Jack's chest. The fire around him sparked and crackled. It was something that he didn't expect, but it was definitely more than he hoped for.

It gave him a feeling of power—stronger than his Aura. He felt the wrath of the fire at his fingertips. He could feel the strength it granted him. Just like when he activated his Aura for the first time, he didn't have this feeling for long; however, it wasn't because of the surge of power weakening him.

No. With most fires, there comes death and destruction. With that fire, however, rage was spawned. This rage wasn't the simple fluctuation of anger. This rage carried with it the wrath of the flame, anger so powerful that it could cloud the mind of the most peaceful monk.

Overcome by the rage, Jack's thoughts went to a grinding halt. Any plan he previously had turned to Dust. Any doubts he had disappeared. He could only process who his target was.

Literally blazing towards his opponent, he attacked. When he used his fists, he swung with all he had. When he gave a kick, he made it as powerful as possible. With each attack, he gave everything with his new rage. But it wasn't enough.

Choosing to stay in a single place, Leo only played with his adversary. With every punch he received, he dodged slightly to the side by only rotating his torso. Every time a foot came his way, he redirected it with his shin. No matter what he was given, Leo smugly stood at the center of the arena. However, it soon grew boring to him.

Dodging a swing to his left, Leo snapped out his right arm. His hand found itself gripped around the crystal within the Aura construct's chest. He could feel the flames cook his armored hand, but it wasn't much of a problem when he coated it with even more Aura. Ripping the crystal away and crushing it in his palm, he let his attention drift away from the fading Aura construct before spinning and launching his foot towards the head of his incoming enemy.

* * *

><p>The body barely ducked beneath the threat and continued to charge, but that didn't matter. The threat returned his foot to its original position by dragging it down, catching the body's back. It was dragged across the ground.<p>

A weight rested itself upon the body's back, "Do you yield?"

Seeing no other way out, it only nodded before allowing itself rest as soon as the weight was taken off of its back.

* * *

><p>He shook his head at how easily the new blood was taken down. Sure, he had some rather strange tactics, but that couldn't always save him. Never once did he and his Aura construct attack at the same time for a good amount of time. The new blood only seemed to buy time for his construct to prepare an attack—except for that final push he made.<p>

And that construct was extremely strange. It always formed itself some distance away from its creator. If he wasn't mistaken, Leo would have thought that the construct was the one making the plans, but that would be absurd. It also seemed that it became angry when it integrated the Dust crystal into itself, yet constructs don't have emotions.

He was—naturally—curious, "HABTS, tell me how his Aura construct worked."

The lights in the room brightened, as the room rearranged itself to its original self, "Mister Johnson's Aura never activated where he was located. Wherever it manifested is where his Aura was located."

He didn't know what to think of that, "Are there any other cases where that has happened?"

The room finished fixing itself, "According to the records at Beacon, no. I am sorry, but I can't access any other document."

"Don't worry, but there is something else I require." He turned his gaze to the unconscious occupant of the room. "Can you make sure that no one enters this room while I'm gone?"

"That would not be a problem, Mister Tigris, but why would you need that?" The artificial intelligence wanted to make note of everything to later send to the headmaster.

He was almost at the exit when he responded, "All I'm doing is getting lunch, and it would be terrible if someone were to walk in on him in this state." And with that he was out the door.

**_End_**

**_What? Did you think that Jack could beat Leo? Ha! That's a good one. If he had difficulty beating a group of Beowolves that basically anyone else would have no problem doing without a scratch, then he is never going to beat a fourth year._**

**_Review any question you have about my story and I will try to answer it._**

**_May the sun guide you through the day, and the moon lull you to rest._**


	10. The Revelations and Soul

**_I don't own "RWBY". That is owned by RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum._**

**_Font:_**

**_Normal:_** "'Go that way,' I say!"

_**Thought/Dreams: **"Half-awake people are not trustworthy with directions."_

**_Writing:_** "The Grimm are a species of soulless creatures."

**_TRANSITION: "Anything With This Font."_**

**_Previously On "The Body and Soul"_**

"That would not be a problem, Mister Tigris, but why would you need that?" The artificial intelligence wanted to make note of everything to later send to the headmaster.

He was almost at the exit when he responded, "All I'm doing is getting lunch, and it would be terrible if someone were to walk in on him in this state." And with that he was out the door.

**_Forty-Five Minutes Later, Same Location_**

Jack didn't understand what happened. One minute, he was going to do something idiotic to see if that would help in his fight. After the next few moments, he felt so weak with only a little bit of information on what he did in between.

All he could feel was complete weakness. What he felt was not a feel that the average person would normally feel. What he felt was heaviness, fatigue, drowsiness, and a few other things that he couldn't think of. It was those feels that made him take that time to only slightly recover. Those feeling made it so that he couldn't move—until now.

He tested to see if he could activate his Aura. The answer gave him some good news at least. He could activate his Aura and it helped stave off the feel for the time being. He could move easier, and could start thinking clearly again.

Whatever it was, he stopped himself from worrying about it for the time. He slowly made his way to his former body. With his Aura still active, he rolled Johnson onto his back to get a good look at the damages.

His clothes were torn, His body was covered with scrapes. But other than that, it didn't seem like he suffered through much. Then again, he wasn't the best at determining wounds.

_"Man,"_ he thought to himself, _"he really put us through the ringer, didn't he?"_

* * *

><p>The body used the familiar Aura that was around it to help heal its bone injuries: fractured sternum, four cracked ribs, and a cracked shoulder blade. The broken skin was something that it could worry about later. The bones that were nearly fixed became a bit fragile, but that was only because they were still being repaired. It needed an efficient way to protect against damage in the future.<p>

The body opened its eyes to see a somewhat worried soul peering over it. Does the soul always become worried when it starts to recover from a battle? _"Probably."_ It sat up, telling the soul that it was awake.

"Need any help there, Johnson?" the soul asked.

The body didn't require any assistance. It didn't appear as if they need to get anywhere, "No."

* * *

><p>Jack was about to ask another question, but he heard the door open. Remembering to turn off his Aura, he felt the weakness return.<p>

Leo came in through the door holding a plate of food in each hand. "Well, well, well," he spoke while walking or wards Johnson, "isn't this a surprise?"

Jack didn't let his surprise be heard in his tone, but he did let himself be sarcastic, "What's the surprise? Me being on the ground still? Or me being conscious?"

He sat down a few feet from Johnson and placed the food to his sides, "To be honest, I expected you to be dead to the word for another thirty minutes."

With curiosity, Jack questioned, "So, what exactly was that battle for?"

He didn't answer for a little while, choosing to remove his heavy gauntlets instead. He slowly set his gauntlets onto the ground behind him. Next he took a large steak from the plate on his left with his bare hand, and he tore off a chunk of the meat with his sharp teeth. He chewed for what seemed to be hours to Jack before gulping it down, "I already told you why. I wanted to know if you are a worthy True Man Out. And from what I've seen, you aren't."

Now that was a bit of a blow to the self-esteem.

"A True Man Out," he continued, "needs to be everything a team can be—and more. But what I've seen from you is nothing but a *disgrace*. You couldn't even make me take a single step! I could bet that just about any other of the new bloods could have made me do more than take a step! From what I've seen, you will die on your first mission—no matter what the Hunter with you does."

Even when he was feeling weak, Jack couldn't help but laugh, "Now isn't that the truth."

Now Leo was curious, "What do you mean?" Maybe the kid had some sort of redeeming quality after all?

Jack didn't want to stretch it out for too long, "Well, I doubt anyone's ever truly ready for their first mission, but that's what Beacon is for: to train us to be ready."

And it was now Leo's turn to laugh, "You're right about that much, no one is ever ready for their first mission. However, when the team fails they don't usually die; the other members can watch each other's backs to make sure of that much. When a True Man Out fails, it usually ends with their death, as they won't have the extra help."

Jack didn't know how to properly respond to that, so he let sarcasm speak for him, "Isn't *that* just a massive weight on my shoulders?"

A sigh came from Leo, "Look, You seem to be a nice kid, but you're not ready for this, and you probably never will be. So why don't you quit while you're ahead?" It seemed like he was really trying to persuade Jack—even adding the touch of resting his hand on Johnson's shoulder—but it wouldn't work.

A chuckle came from Jack, "Yeah, maybe."

"Do you think Ozpin made a mistake letting you stay?" The seed of doubt was planted.

"Nah," the seed would need to wait until it rained to be nurtured. "It's barely been a single day, so I can't say yet."

"You're an interesting kid, new blood. It would be a sight to see someday, possibly. I'll just leave you to your lunch," Leo stood and walked away, taking the plate of food, to his left, with him.

As soon as he left, Jack reactivated his Aura. He didn't do it for a feeling of strength. He did it so he could give Johnson the plate to let him eat. He knew his former body deserved it. For that time, Jack could only question what happened with the Dust.

He knew he felt rage, but the question was "why". Looking back on the event, he also realized that he felt a bit of joy before the rage. The light bulb above his head finally turned on. He felt joy when the wind Dust activated and rage when the fire Dust activated. Now he just needed to understand why.

He can figure it out later. Now he just needed to know what his next class would be, "Hey Johnson, what's the next class?"

he answered as he continued to eat, "Professor: Goodwitch, Glynda. Battle tactics and live-combat."

_"Well, that sounds like a fun class,"_ oh, how he will regret those thoughts.

**_End_**

**_Originally, this chapter and the one prior to this would have been a single chapter, but I decided to split it up. I thought it was a good place to stop at, so why not?_**

**_If you haven't noticed yet, I'm trying to make each arc have a similar theme to that of the RWBY arcs._**

**_Remember to review or PM your questions if you have one._**

**_If you are reading this during this during the day, I wish you a good day. If you're reading this a night, however, you won't be getting anything other than a good night._**


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